# Miami Dade Animal Control



## Allie512 (Sep 28, 2010)

Wanted to post the latest re this facility: from today's Miami Herald
Animal activists protest Miami-Dade shelter - Miami-Dade Breaking News - MiamiHerald.com
Animal activists protest Miami-Dade shelter


BY ELINOR J. BRECHER

[email protected]

About 50 animal welfare activists chanting and waving signs demanding the ouster of Miami-Dade Animal Services Director Sara Pizano took their message to the streets in an hour-long demonstration Tuesday afternoon.
A banner plan flew overhead saying that Miami-Dade Animal Services kills 325 cats and dogs a day with taxpayer money and protestors chanted “Stop the Killing, Stop the Pain, Sara Pizano is to Blame.’’
Pizano, who became director in 2005, has been under attack for several months after the euthanasia of a sick and starving dog that an owner asked to be put down.
Wide publicity of another incident, a prohibited method of killing cats called “heart stick,’’ increased the pressure on Pizano when she demoted rather than fired the employee who had done it.
A few pro-Pizano counter-demonstrators from The Cat Network decried the personal attack on Pizano.
Christine Michael, a Cat Network volunteer, said “all that negative energy could be put to saving animals if we all worked together.’’
Animal Services takes in approximately 36,000 cats and dogs annually and by law must accept every animal brought to the shelter no matter how sick, injured or vicious.
While adoption rates are at an all-time high at the shelter, some 21,000 animals are euthanized annually.


Read more: Animal activists protest Miami-Dade shelter - Miami-Dade Breaking News - MiamiHerald.com


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## gsdraven (Jul 8, 2009)

I wonder how many of those protestors volunteer at the shelter or with local rescues to help find these dogs and cats homes or donate to the shelter to help pay for the sick animals' medications.


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## Allie512 (Sep 28, 2010)

I believe the sick and starving dog referred to is the one that there was a petition posted on this forum regarding - I am not sure where the thread is located.

The shelter is a disgrace but the blame is with the people who will not spay and neuter, the County for not funding the shelter property - though I hear another one is being built and better laws to try and stop the puppy mills /stores and backyard breeding which flourishes in Miami Dade.


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## Allie512 (Sep 28, 2010)

Here is the thread http://www.germanshepherds.com/forum/follow-up/143513-justice-roxy-starved-eud-gsd.html " that has been under attack for several months after the euthanasia of a sick and starving dog that an owner asked to be put down." - I believe this statement is in the article is about Roxy.


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## MaggieRoseLee (Aug 17, 2001)

gsdraven said:


> I wonder how many of those protestors volunteer at the shelter or with local rescues to help find these dogs and cats homes or donate to the shelter to help pay for the sick animals' medications.


 
I wonder too.... it takes special people to work at facilities like this.


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## Anja1Blue (Feb 27, 2008)

Allie512 said:


> Here is the thread http://www.germanshepherds.com/forum/follow-up/143513-justice-roxy-starved-eud-gsd.html " that has been under attack for several months after the euthanasia of a sick and starving dog that an owner asked to be put down." - I believe this statement is in the article is about Roxy.


Except that Roxy wasn't sick - she had recently survived delivering a litter of puppies and stood tall for her final photo. Looking at her though, she clearly WAS starving. She was summarily "executed" on her intake day just on the owners' say so, with no hold time and no medical evaluation - despite the fact that Sara Pizano is a licensed veterinarian. You would expect a higher level of compassion with such a person at the helm. While it is true that things at Miami - Dade are better than in the truly bad old days (when the Police Dept was running things) people who deal with/have dealt with this shelter all say the same thing - Roxy wasn't an isolated example of how animals are treated there, they are very difficult to work with, and flat-out refuse to work with out of state rescues, however reputable. They tout the 50 plus groups they supposedly work with locally, but in truth these groups are only effective if you have staff to coordinate with them - Roxy had local (or at least in-state) people who would have taken her, had they been notified: not one of them was, as far as we can tell, and by the time her photo was posted on the 'net, she was already dead.

Personally, after what I've heard about this place, whether or not these protesters send donations, volunteer, or dance on the head of a pin is immaterial - they are continuing to bring attention to a place that needs it desperately - they need money, a better facility, and - more importantly - a different mind set. I wrote a letter to Dr Pizano expressing my displeasure with how Roxy had been handled - however, it was polite and articulate, and would have given her the chance to respond and perhaps set the record straight, as sometimes information is distorted......She however chose to ignore it. 
___________________________________________
Susan

Anja SchH3 GSD
Conor GSD
Blue BH WH T1 GSD - waiting at the Bridge :angel:


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## Allie512 (Sep 28, 2010)

Anja - I totally agree with you. It brings attention and today the protest was in downtown Miami, not way out at animal control. It has been widely covered by local tv news; if I had known about it, I would have gone to the protest. I think Roxy is getting some justice and perhaps helping others. Unfortunately we have a county with no money and a governor who is a monster - he truly is - beyond belief and will not help anyone who is not a corporate buddy of his and therefore is cutting every possible funding for the county, including elderly, schools, etc. But there are people in Miami with personal funds, i.e., the local humane society is very well funded, who could and should help animal control. Perhaps this will help somewhat. The governor - we can only hope he self destructs with his single minded corporate greed.


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

I think that those protestors ought to be putting their money where their mouthes are. How many of them have gone to the shelter and said, how much money do you need, and how can I help?

Maybe those protestors should be following the yayhoos who drop their dogs off home and protest them. 

Maybe they should get together and work to help people keep their dogs, educate people on how to manage their dogs, train their dogs, and put together a fund to help people pay for vet care if they are having a rough time of it. 

Instead of complaining outside a pound, about the method of killing animals, maybe they should be going after the reason those animals are getting killed. Most workers do not want to kill the animals. But with limited time, space, and resources, they are often required to do so. So make it that much harder on them instead of doing anything constructive.

I guess you can tell I am not a fan of protestors.


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## Lesley1905 (Aug 25, 2010)

Miami is also having a distemper outbreak....just a side note to all owners in South Florida to make sure their animals are updated!


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## DharmasMom (Jul 4, 2010)

While I think there do need to be changes at the Miami-Dade shelter, I agree with a lot of selzer's points as well. I remember Roxy's thread and I signed the petition. There was a rescue that was willing to take her but she had already been pts. She deserved better than she got.

At the same time, if all of those people who are protesting would donate money or even better open up their home's to foster with a rescue, that would be a lot better than holding a sign.


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## Anja1Blue (Feb 27, 2008)

selzer said:


> I think that those protestors ought to be putting their money where their mouthes are. How many of them have gone to the shelter and said, how much money do you need, and how can I help?
> 
> Maybe those protestors should be following the yayhoos who drop their dogs off home and protest them.
> 
> ...


You don't know what these people are doing on their own time, so speculating that it's nothing might be erroneous. You might not like protestors, but sometimes it's the only way to get the general public (or the rest of the world) to pay attention to what is going on. Would you have told the people in Egypt to go home? I guess you would........ or is it just SOME protestors you don't like. I for one hope these people keep it up - and in the next election I hope that the people of Miami are better served by their local government - I agree with you Allie 512, the Mayor seems to be about as bad as it gets. M-D needs a complete overhaul, no-one is disputing that. But the attitude in general, the bad management (though Pizano is apparently the best they've had in a long time) needs a shake-up as well, it's not just a question of logistics.
__________________________________________
Susan

Anja SchH3 GSD
Conor GSD
Blue BH WH T1 GSD - waiting at the Bridge :angel:


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## gagsd (Apr 24, 2003)

I do not know anything about this case, however the reality for many animal control facilities is that any owner surrender is euthanized immediately. 

I will never forget a "breeder" here in Columbus called and had his unsold German Shepherd puppies picked up. If I remember correctly, this "breeder" had called me for help as the puppies had coccidia. He did not have the money to even buy a bottle of albon.
All of the litter was euthanized on the AC truck. There were just too many strays inside to take anything else in the building.

Our AC Director is a wonderful, caring lady who loves animals. I am quite sure she gets sick of the sorry owners and the unrealistic expectations of the general public.


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## RebelGSD (Mar 20, 2008)

I have heard of many problems at this shelter, including dogs that had rescue lined up and a place to go getting killed. Also the shelter refuses to work with non-local rescues that are willing to help. 

It is obvious that there is not enough space for every animal and some will have to be euthanized. However killing animals that have a place to go is unacceptable.

The people who were demonstrating were likely the ones who battle with the shelter to get the animals to safety and have to jump hoops and hurdles to do so. Others would not bother.


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## Anja1Blue (Feb 27, 2008)

RebelGSD said:


> I have heard of many problems at this shelter, including dogs that had rescue lined up and a place to go getting killed. Also the shelter refuses to work with non-local rescues that are willing to help.
> 
> It is obvious that there is not enough space for every animal and some will have to be euthanized. However killing animals that have a place to go is unacceptable.
> 
> The people who were demonstrating were likely the ones who battle with the shelter to get the animals to safety and have to jump hoops and hurdles to do so. Others would not bother.


Thank you Rebel - my point exactly, it's a mindset that is at the heart of the problem here, not just a question of bad conditions, overwhelming numbers of animals, etc. etc. however significant those may be. If I lived in Miami I would have been out there with that small group of people - 500 would have been better, but 50 is a beginning.......
_____________________________________________
Susan

Anja SchH3 GSD
Conor GSD
Blue BH WH T1 GSD - waiting at the Bridge :angel:


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## Allie512 (Sep 28, 2010)

The protest served a purpose - the public is now discussing it - many comments in the Miami Herald, etc. The problem with animals should not and cannot be hidden away - it is unpleasant for most but it must be dealt with. I see little hope in Miami Dade changing for budgetary reasons; the "governor" of Florida is creating many problems with funding; major protests against the "governor" are scheduled in March.

We must thank Roxy (via Susan) for getting some justice and some attention for those poor ones at Animal Control.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

Demonstrators have changed the course of history. Demonstrators bring attention to problems. Demonstrators bring education to the masses to spread the word of a problem. Without demonstrators, standing up for what they think is right and for change, women wouldn't have the right to vote. It's really sad when someone dismisses a group of people that are trying to bring change for the better.

Stepping off my soapbox now...

There is a shelter in southern FL, not sure which one but my friend volunteers there while wintering over in the warmth, that uses clicker training. They have a 3 day turn around from the time the animal comes through the door to the time it is adopted. It's a shame that other shelters, everywhere, aren't following their lead.


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