The now defunct Olympic Animal Sanctuary (OAS) was located in Forks, Washington. ^[1] It was a 501(c)3 non-profit animal sanctuary, founded in 2006.

The sanctuary's primary exempt purpose was, "Prevention of cruelty to animals".

A Los Angeles Times article about the sanctuary, indicated some of the dogs were, "the worst of the worst from around the country." ^[2] A People Magazine article about Steve Markwell outlined the purpose of the sanctuary, referring to it as a, "Last Chance for Bad Dogs." ^[3]

In December 2013, after allegations of animal abuse were made by former sanctuary volunteers and the sanctuary received negative publicity on television, ^[4] Steve Markwell announced the sanctuary would be closing and he wanted to transfer the dogs to Best Friends Animal Society, in Utah. ^{[5] [6]}

Markwell loaded the dogs into a 53-foot semi-trailer on December 21, 2013, and left Forks. ^[7]

Unable to reach an agreement with Best Friends Animal Society, ^[8] Markwell made arrangements with Guardians of Rescue, ^[9] a New York-based rescue, to take possession of the dogs on December 24, 2013, at the RUFFF site in Golden Valley, Arizona. ^{[10] [11] [12]}

All of the sanctuary's dogs that were released to Guardians of Rescue, were eventually taken in by other organizations or placed into homes. ^{[13] [14]}

On July 29, 2014, the Washington State Attorney General announced a complaint was filed against Markwell. ^[15] According to the Attorney General's complaint, filed in Clallam County Superior Court, Markwell was accused of soliciting for and collecting funds while not registered as a charity, and failing to keep adequate financial records. ^[16]

KOMO-TV News reported on April 7, 2015, Markwell was found guilty of 48 violations of charitable solicitation laws, based on charges filed by the Washington Attorney General. ^{[17] [18] [19]}