These dogs at Miami-Dade’s overcrowded animal shelter need homes
Local rescue groups say this is the bleakest time they can remember for homeless dogs, with municipal shelters full and nonprofit sanctuaries also at capacity.
Suffering from COVID-19 pandemic aftershocks — including disruptions in the sterilization services that would reduce dog births and soaring rents that let landlords be less welcoming to tenants with pets — organizations say they’re getting more calls than ever from people eager to find homes for found canines.
Miami-Dade County’s animal shelter was so full at the end of last year that even police officers were told not to expect help with stray dogs that they found roaming the streets.
“The shelter has reached a critical point in dangerous overpopulation,” Kathleen Labrada, assistant director of Animal Services, wrote in a Dec. 2 email, as the Miami Herald’s Douglas Hanks reported. “The Department is unable to respond to 15’s involving contained stray dogs, whether in a police car or at a station.”
The shelter prioritizes kennel space for dogs from enforcement actions, such as those rescued from animal-cruelty investigations or inhumane conditions.
Miami-Dade has a “no-kill” policy for its shelter, which bans euthanizing animals for space purposes. The policy, along with the County Commission’s 2020 passage of “Save Charlie” legislation, limits euthanasia to health issues and severe behavioral concerns.
In 2021, Miami-Dade reported only about 300 shelter dogs were euthanized, out of more than 8,500 taken in by the facility.
A recent Miami Herald story about a stray dog who was taken to the pet shelter described the overcrowded conditions there. The story also spotlighted the increasing problem of dogs abandoned on Miami-Dade streets.
Among the dogs at the shelter who now need homes are the ones whose photos we present here. Their descriptions, which include the dogs’ identification numbers, were written by staff and volunteers at Miami-Dade County Animal Services.
For these dogs, and others:
If you wish to adopt a pet from the shelter’s Pet Adoption and Protection Center at 3599 NW 79th Ave. in Doral:
Call 311 or 305-468-5900.
(There is also an offsite location inside the Petco Adoption Center at 6200 S. Dixie Hwy. South Miami.)
Dogs older than 4 months carry a $65 adoption fee, which includes all vaccinations, de-worming, spay/neuter surgery, a microchip, heartworm test and rabies license tags. (Fees are waived for military veterans.)
See more information and requirements online.
READ MORE: Miami-Dade’s stray dog problem: full kennels and a plea to keep them in the neighborhood
READ MORE: Luna the stray dog showed up in Kendall, scared and growling. Could she find a home?
