Surrendering Your Pet

Due to critical capacity and the high number of dogs and cats in need of homes Animal Services is asking our community to help us continue our life-saving mission by helping us manage our pet population and avoid surrendering pets unless absolutely necessary. Anyone who finds friendly stray pets should consider fostering them while helping to reunite the pet with their families.

Please visit Lost and Found Pets for additional information and tips to help the pet find their way back home.

Leaving your pet at a shelter can be a heartbreaking experience, but there are alternatives. We will work with you to find resources and solutions to keep you and your pet together. Surrendering your pet to a shelter should be your last resort.

Animal Services works with rescue groups, humane societies and offers rehoming assistance.

Before surrendering your pet, try to find a good home for it by asking family and friends, sharing it online, or putting up flyers at veterinarian offices in your neighborhood.

Try using resources like Home To Home™, an interactive platform created to help families, people and pets with the difficult task of finding a new home. Once your profile is created people interested in fostering or adopting a new pet can view your pet profile on Home To Home and then reach out to you directly.

Related FAQs

- Must be a Miami-Dade County resident
- Must show proof of ownership to surrender the pet
- Only dogs and cats are accepted
- There is no age limit on the pet to be surrendered
- $10.00 surrender fee
Animal Services staff works with pet owners to help prevent them from surrendering their pets, while helping to ease the stray population and space at the Pet Adoption and Protection Center.

Email the department with the following information to consider circumstances to keep your pet:
- Pet owner's name
- Pet owner's phone number
- Pet owner's email
- Pet name, dog or cat, and age
We ask pet owners to consider the following alternatives before surrendering a pet to the Pet Adoption and Protection Center:
- Keeping their pet at home until they can find a permanent home for the animal. Consider friends, family, co-workers, or neighbors who may be looking for a pet.
- Reach out to Animal rescue groups
- Find Pet-friendly housing
- Use Training tips for behavioral issues
The Pet Deferral program offers options to help rehome your pet to avoid having to relinquish your dog or cat at the shelter.

In some cases, when the shelter is full or nearly full, Animal Services may administer free DHPP and Bordetella vaccines and ask owners to keep their pets until space becomes available. Once there is space in the shelter a staff member will contact the owner. If a solution to keep or rehome their pet has not been reached, the owner may surrender their pet.

Animal Services staff works with pet owners on a case-by-case basis to provide this service.

Pet owners interested in the program can contact ASD by sending an email to: [email protected] or call 311.

Phone Number(s)

Customer Service
311 or 305-468-5900311 or 305-468-5900
TTY
711711

Animal Services

Annette Jose, Director

Pet Adoption and Protection Center
3599 NW 79 Avenue, Doral, FL 33122
311

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