Pet Rescue in Miami Gardens Closes, Volunteers Fear Cats Will Be Put Down

Last winter, the Miami Herald ran an article about pet owners who were forced to give up their animals. The reason: They were broke, the economy was crap, and having a cat or a dog is expensive. Fortunately, feline lovers were able to leave their pets at an intimate, family-run...

By Natalie O'Neill

October 15, 2009

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Last winter, the Miami Herald ran an article about pet owners who were forced to give up their animals. The reason: They were broke, the economy was crap, and having a cat or a dog is expensive. Fortunately, feline lovers were able to leave their pets at an intimate, family-run shelter on NW 191st Street in Miami Gardens called Pet Rescue.

The refuge was unique. It refused to euthanize tough-to-adopt pets. (Some were antisocial; others were impossible to potty train.) Eventually the owners of Pet Rescue ran into money trouble. And yesterday the Humane Society took over.

Workers at the shelter are worried. The Human Society accepts only "adoptable" animals. And volunteer Terry Alice says many of the quirkier cats will become homeless. "I'm not worried about the pretty ones," she says. "This is Miami; people can be shallow. It's the shy ones and the ones that are semi-feral who I'm concerned about."

Pet Rescue employee Katherine Sullivan would say only: "We're really scrambling to find homes for them."

"If they're not adoptable," Alice says, "what are they gonna do?"

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