MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – Ten frightened puppies were found huddled under a woodpile in rural Homestead, part of what advocates say is a growing and heartbreaking epidemic across South Florida: pets abandoned and left to die.
Ten puppies were recently rescued after being dumped and left for dead, which is a part of a much bigger problem in South Florida.
Birch joined Junior Siqueira of Redland Dog Sanctuary and Edgar Santiago from Homestead Animal Control as they worked to pull the puppies from the pile. The mother dog was nowhere in sight.
“If we don’t take those puppies now, in six months we can’t touch them anymore, they are going to start reproducing,” said Siqueira, who runs the sanctuary.
With careful teamwork, the group worked to lure the puppies out using food and tools, trying to save them from a dangerous future.
Local 10 Animal Advocate Jacey Birch asked, “If we didn’t just rescue those 10 puppies …”
“We would have another 10 feral dogs out here, that’s what’s going to happen — it’s going to continue and continue and get bigger and bigger,” said Santiago.
Estimates suggest there are more than 30,000 stray dogs in Miami-Dade County alone. Advocates say cultural differences, backyard breeding and a lack of awareness fuel the crisis.
“We’re a melting pot here in South Florida, so we have a lot of folks from all different parts of the world and some parts of the world, they don’t treat dogs like family,” Santiago added.
He said the dumping problem is largely driven by profit.
“Why do we have such a dumping problem? ” asked Birch.
“Well one of the main things with animals is people want to make a buck off them,” Santiago said. “You know the puppies they will breed them, they’ll use mom up until as much as they can, they’ll breed her and once they no longer need her they’ll just release her or dump her out somewhere.”
Siqueira has made it his life’s work to care for the abandoned. On his four-acre property, he houses around 200 dogs in 160 kennels. He’s saved more than 1,000 dogs over the past three years.
“They ate good. That’s the little one, that’s Sara, she’s only 1.8 pounds, she’s so tiny, look at that, they are a little dehydrated,” he said.
One of his most memorable rescues was Liam, a starving dog who is now healthy and full of life.
“He never lost his will to live! Isn’t that beautiful? That’s just beautiful!” said Siqueira, choking up.
Despite his efforts, Siqueira admits the scope of the problem is overwhelming.
“We try as hard as we can to make a difference but it seems like such a small dent and such a huge issue that we have that sometimes I just feel hopeless,” he said. “I try not to think about the dogs that I cannot help. It’s very painful.”
Many of the rescued dogs, especially those born and raised on the streets, are too feral to be adopted.
“What’s even sadder is that many of these rescued dogs have been on the streets forever, they are feral, they have never had any human interaction so they can’t be adopted out and they will spend all their days right here at this sanctuary,” said Birch.
Still, Siqueira holds onto hope.
“I just hope when I see you guys again, those kennels are empty,” he said.
If you are interested in adopting, visiting or donating to Redland Dog Sanctuary, click here.
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