DORAL, Fla. – Like many shelters nationwide, Miami-Dade Animal Services is facing an overpopulation crisis due to fewer pet adoptions, inflation, and other factors.
Flora Beal, a spokeswoman for the county agency, said the locations in Doral and Medley are overcrowded likely due to housing insecurities.
“We normally can house between 300 to 350 dogs, about 150 cats. That’s our normal capacity,” Beal said. right now we have more than 850 pets here.”
The average stay for a shelter pet is much longer than it used to be.
“Lucky Charm just left after two years. Our longest resident so far is 487 days. Zucchini about a year, so the animals are staying here longer,” Beal said.
Animal advocates have protested over the conditions of the shelter in Medley.
“It may not be as nice and as beautiful and modern as this one, but it does provide shelter for them. We have a staff that goes out there every day to do the cleaning, feeding, and the vet care for them,” Beal said.
The animals need homes. Beal has a message for the community: “If you can’t adopt, consider fostering one of our larger dogs just for a couple of weeks or a month from the shelter environment.”