24 dogs hit the road for no-kill shelters

Twenty-four dogs are on their way from Miami-Dade Animal Shelter to no-kill shelters where they have a better chance of being adopted.

The Miami-Dade County Animal Services Department's "Miami Dogs on the Move Program" was implemented to help transport dogs to shelters around the county where they had a better chance of being adopted.

To date, nine transports have left since the program began in November 2011. More than 140 dogs have been saved

A new transport departed Thursday morning with 24 dogs on their way to new lives. 

• Slideshow: Dogs on the Move

"The dogs are so excited, because they know somehow they are going to get out of their kennels," said volunteer coordinator Melissa Sorokin.

The goal of the program is to save more pets by transferring them to no-kill shelters outside of Miami-Dade.  With the help of Pawsitive 4 Life, a rescue group that fundraises for the rescue of pets from ASD, the goal is to continuously expand the transfer program to eventually include the transfer of hundreds of pets per month.

"With up to 300-400 dogs at the shelter on any given day, the efforts of rescues and adoption cannot cover the sheer numbers of animals that the County shelter must take in," said MDAS Director Alex Muñoz. "We are thankful to these shelters for their great assistance: Peggy Adams Humane Society of West Palm Beach, Mountain Rottie Rescue of New York, PA Boxer Rescue of Pennsylvania and North Country Animal League of Vermont, who have all stepped up to take dogs from ASD,”

Each year, Miami-Dade Animal Services impounds 36,000 pets.  The goal at Animal Services is to reunite lost pets with their families or find life-long homes for as many animals as possible.

"We probably saved more than 71 percent of the dogs last year, and we want to make it 100 percent," said Muñoz. "This program helps us to get more dogs out that would not have a chance here."

"It's a tremendous amount of hard work to make the whole thing happen, but once the van hits the road, I am just thrilled, super happy," Sorokin said.

For more information on how you can adopt a shelter pet, visit www.miamidade.gov/animals  or call 311.