MARGATE, Fla. — Pet dumping has become a massive problem for us here in South Florida, but it only gets worse right after the holidays when so many pets that were purchased as presents are unwanted and thrown away like garbage.

It’s the small rescue groups that suffer the most, as they try to save each and every life.

“People have been dumping dogs out in our backyard,” said Wendy Betulia with United For Animals Rescue. “They are tying them up to trees, they’re leaving them abandoned in our play yard.

“Cats are almost weekly,” she continued. “They’re left in cages out front, they’re dumped in cages in the lobby, they are pretty much everywhere, wherever you can abandon a cat around this whole building, they do.”

Several animals have been left outside the shelter in recent days and weeks.

“It’s disgusting,” said Savannah Taglieri with United for Animals Rescue. “They treat them like objects and toys that you can return, not as animals that are living beings and have souls.”

United For Animals Rescue has been dealing with dumped and abandoned animals as long as they have had their storefront, located at 366-364 S. State Road 7 in Margate.

That’s why they have nearly 200 cats and a few dozen dogs in the no-kill shelter.

UFAR is drowning and in desperate need of help. They have already missed two months of rent payments, and the number of animals tossed out like trash keeps climbing, especially after the holidays.

They just can’t afford to house and vet all of them.

“When we tell them no, they just walk outside, dump the animal there in a cage and then drive off, so it doesn’t matter if we say no,” said Betulia.

And now they are receiving backlash for taking in too many animals and charging high adoption fees.

“They complain our prices are high, but we’re very picky about who gets our animals, so they complain about that too,” said Betulia. “We can’t win with anything here.”

For that reason, they have partnered with the Humane Society of Broward County to help find homes for some of their pets that have been living there way too long.

Some of the cats have been there as long as eight years, which is exactly how long UFAR has been open, and it shows you how hard it is to get them all adopted out.

UFAR rehomed 800 pets in 2025, but the animal lovers there constantly preach spaying and neutering, as that is the number one reason they have to rescue helpless animals from the streets, and why so many pets are surrendered to them.

They try to save them all, but they are swamped financially and they don’t know how long they can keep their doors open without a lifeline.

“What happens if we have to close our doors?” asked Betulia. “What if we have to shut down? What’s going to happen to all these animals here? Who’s going to take them?”

If you would like to adopt from UFAR or help with donations or volunteering, visit their website by clicking here or visit them on Instagram @ufarescue.

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