A Santa Rosa woman is facing serious charges after being accused of misappropriating thousands of dollars in donations intended for Dogwood Animal Rescue, a beloved local nonprofit animal welfare organization. According to a social media post from the Santa Rosa Police Department (SRPD), two donors' concerns triggered an investigation that led to the arrest of Jennifer Chenier on Wednesday. Chenier, 36, a resident employed at the UPS Store where the charity's mailbox is located, is suspected of depositing stolen donation checks into her account.
The investigation began on Tuesday when donors approached the executives at Dogwood Animal Rescue about missing checks. Dogwood operates with over 200 volunteers and is a pillar of the community's effort to promote animal welfare, relying heavily on donations to fund its mission. The revelation that checks were being deposited elsewhere sent a chill through the nonprofit sector, which operates on trust and the goodwill of benefactors. After the donors confirmed their checks had been cashed without reaching Dogwood's account, suspicion fell upon Chenier, who worked at the location where the donations were disappearing.
Detectives with the SRPD Property Crimes Investigations (PCI) team soon found probable cause, leading to Chenier's arrest at her workplace. Searches of her property yielded concerning findings. "In Chenier’s purse, detectives located just under $7,000 in cash and six checks payable to Dogwood Animal Rescue. In Chenier’s residence, detectives located an additional 24 checks payable to the nonprofit organization," stated the Santa Rosa Police Department on Facebook. The recovered checks amounted to over $18,000, a significant sum for a non-profit organization dedicated to rescuing and rehoming animals.
Further troubling is the discovery of paraphernalia related to additional crimes at Chenier's home. When serving an addendum to the original search warrant yesterday, PCI detectives found an illegal Colt M4 assault rifle and a silencer in a locked suitcase, which further complicated Chenier’s legal situation, considering her narcotics addiction and the severity of the firearms-related charges.
