Flooding strains already-packed Miami-Dade Animal Services facilities

The Miami-Dade Animal Services centers in Doral and Medley are overcapacity and, after Wednesday night’s strong storms, they had to deal with severe flooding. (WPLG)

DORAL, Fla. – The Miami-Dade Animal Services centers in Doral and Medley are overcapacity and, after Wednesday night’s strong storms, they had to deal with severe flooding.

Some dogs, standing in inches of water, had to be moved to pop-up kennels.

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While the flooding is now under control, Miami-Dade Animal Services is still dealing with numbers officials say they have never seen before.

More than 700 dogs are in their care right now. They have a few tips for the public to keep in mind if you already have pets at home.

“Try to keep pets at home. If it’s a lost pet, it’s more likely to find its owners if it stays within its neighborhood, just within a few blocks,” an official with Miami-Dade Animal Services said. “The other thing we’re asking the community: make sure you microchip microchip is going to help us connect you connect your pet with you when the pet is lost. And then finally spay and neuter.”

The same official asked for people to adopt or foster dogs and cats to help clear the shelters.

“Thanksgiving is coming up, kids are gonna be home from school next week,” she said. “Taking a dog even for a week can make a really big difference for the shelter and for that dog.”

Editor’s note: The original version of this article reported that the dogs were moved to kennels without air conditioning. A spokesperson for MDAS later clarified that this was not the case. The article has since been corrected.


About the Author

Annaliese Garcia joined Local 10 News in January 2020. Born and raised in Miami, she graduated from the University of Miami, where she studied broadcast journalism. She began her career at Univision. Before arriving at Local 10, she was with NBC2 (WBBH-TV) covering Southwest Florida. She's glad to be back in Miami!

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