Situation described as 'dire' at South Florida pet shelters
WYNWOOD -- If you find yourself at the intersection of Northwest 3rd and Northwest 25th in Wynwood, you'll find a message, "Rescue don't buy."
Best Friends is an animal welfare organization that found there are 100,000 more pets in animal shelters nationwide than there were in 2022. That crisis is being felt in South Florida.
Director of Animal Services for Miami-Dade County, Bronwyn Stanford says the situation is dire. "We used to be able to get 50 to 100 dogs out a month going up north that has dried up. Rescues are full," she said.
Lola is a rescue that's been living at the Miami-Dade County Animal Shelter for a year. A symbol of how bad things are.
"She's so gentle, she gives paw, she sits on command, she's potty trained. Just all around an awesome dog," said Stanford. She tells CBS 4's Chelsea Jones, that's the reality for most shelter pets in Miami Dade.
In their shelter, there are almost 600 pets and in Broward, that number is over 600 too. Stanford says these numbers are being seen because of inflation. "It's not really the fact that people adopted a lot of pets during the pandemic and are giving them up."
Organization, Best friends, reports at kennels across the country staffing is also part of the problem.
"A kennel is a great short stay. They shouldn't be there honestly for more than two weeks," said Stanford.
In Miami-Dade, all shelter pets are dewormed, vaccinated, and come with microchips. Dogs that are four months older and up cost $65. Dogs under four years old are $85 and cats are $35.
To adopt, visit Miami-Dade Shelter at 3599 NW 79th Avenue in Doral. For Broward County Animal Care & Adoption, you can visit 2400 SW 42nd Street in Fort Lauderdale.
