NORTH MIAMI BEACH, FLA. (WSVN) - The Humane Society of Greater Miami is calling for community support after discovering seven abandoned puppies on their shelter grounds.
Officials said that a volunteer found three malnourished and frightened puppies wandering the shelter grounds in North Miami Beach on Wednesday morning.
“They could’ve all been hit by cars. They could have ran into West Dixie Highway,” said Jossie Aguirre, Executive Director of The Humane Society of Greater Miami.
Shortly after, a battered cage with four additional puppies, reeking of urine and feces, was located.
The puppies had been left without food or water under the harsh South Florida sun and needed immediate veterinary care.
Aguirre said all seven puppies tested positive for parasites.
“We actually realized right away that they were sick. They actually have multiple medical issues right now. They have coccidia, giardia, brown worms, hookworms,” she said.
Now these pups are undergoing much-needed treatment.
“This distressing situation mirrors a similar incident from last month when eight dogs were abandoned outside our shelter,” said Aguirre. “Our shelter is beyond capacity, and the continuous abandonment of animals is exerting immense pressure on our resources. We urgently need the community’s support to manage this escalating situation and provide these animals with the care they so desperately need.”
Aguirre said the eight abandoned dogs stemmed from a similar situation: the owner did really care whether or not the shelter had space.
“A couple of years ago, maybe two years ago, our month average abandonment was maybe 15 animals. We are between 50 and 60 right now,” she said.
The space shortage is not only impacting the Humane Society, but Miami-Dade County in general.
“Right now, Miami-Dade County is going through a huge crisis in the animal welfare community. Every shelter is full, that’s without exception, every shelter is full. But what’s happening is, because the shelter is full and so many people are in need, they’re just abandoning animals at the door, and that is just not the way to go,” said Aguirre.
The organization said it is a disturbing trend that is not only hurting the shelter, but also the animals.
“For all young puppies, so obviously, this is something of concern. They were left in one crate that was battered with a huge container of water next to them, but obviously, they can’t serve themselves water, and it was scorching hot outside, so it was not an ideal situation for the dogs,” said Aguirre. “They were scared and nervous and very hard to catch.”
The shelter is asking for help through adoption, fostering and financial donations to cover medical treatments and care for the animals.
“We know a lot of it has to do with finances, we completely understand that, but times are not just tough for the owners, they’re tough for the shelters as well,” said Aguirre, “and if it’s not done in a way that allows us to make the proper room, it’s just putting so much strain on everything and then makes the animals that are here suffer more.”
For more information on how you can help, please visit www.humanesocietymiami.org. To access the Humane Society of Greater Miami’s Amazon wish list, click here.
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