Update: Andy was pulled from the shelter and is safe. Here is a link to his Freedom Ride, his ride away from the shelter.

Andy was picked up by a good Samaritan who couldn’t keep him. He happily jumped into their car and they took him to the county shelter, hoping that he would be reunited with his owner or adopted.

Unfortunately, Andy is terrified at the shelter. When a volunteer visited him, his video shows that he just whined pitifully. His back legs quiver either from cold or fright. While the shelter is air conditioned, he is probably scared. Watch his video and you can see he is sweet and friendly. His tail wags when the visitor interacts with him and he gently kisses her fingers. But his whining and obvious fear are heartbreaking.

A volunteer who visited him said he’s very depressed. She also said: “Not allowed to do temp testing as I’m only a volunteer and we can’t place 2 dogs together in play area unless they share kennels. However Andy shows no signs of aggression towards other dogs when passing by the kennels and dogs barking at him. Approaches gently to sniff other dogs through the fence wagging tail and then walks away. (no barking)” 

Andy also has a lemon-sized tumor on his rear hip. The vet notes from the shelter stated: Large, slightly firm subcutaneous mass on right lateral thigh; non‑painful on palpation. Mildly alopecic/erythematous likely due to self‑trauma. Recommend surgical removal and histopathology.

Andy needs someone to step up and offer to foster him. With a foster offer, a local rescue would pull him and get him the veterinary care he needs. The problem is that without a foster home for him to live in, rescues can’t pull him. Fostering is vital in the rescue process.

While there is no indication that the shelter is going to kill Andy at this point, please remember that this is a shelter that routinely kills between ten and fifteen dogs a night. Some have been labeled “aggressive” while others may have been killed with the label “medically indicated.” Both labels allow the shelter to not count the killed animals toward their no-kill statistics. So theoretically, the shelter could kill 50 “aggressive” dogs and still claim to be a no kill shelter. The volunteers consider no dog safe at Miami Dade Animal Services.

Andy is ‪#‎A1794694‬. There may be more information on his Facebook thread. He’s in pod F at MDAS. Please share him. There may be more information on his Urgent Dogs of Miami Facebook thread.  He is at the Miami Dade Animal Services, 3599 NW 79 Avenue, Doral, Florida 33166. The phone number is (305) 884-1101. The shelter is open Monday through Friday from 10:00 am to 6:30 pm and Saturday and Sunday from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. Email: pets@miamidade.gov for more information.