There’s a new county animal shelter coming to Miami-Dade. Here’s what we know

A new home is coming for hundreds of Miami-Dade shelter pets.

The county is building a 25,000-square-foot animal shelter in South Dade that officials say will improve conditions for animals, expand veterinary services and make pet adoptions more accessible for residents in the southern part of Miami-Dade.

The facility will be built at 29500 Harriet Tubman Highway in South Dade and will help ease overcrowding at the county’s overflow shelter in Medley, which officials originally intended to use temporarily but now rely on to house at least 130 dogs each day.

“This new facility is going to be a state-of-the-art shelter that’s really going to put best practices into place so that the animals living there are as comfortable and enjoying quality of life as much as possible,” said Miami-Dade Animal Services Director Annette Jose.

While Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis recently vetoed state funding that would have helped purchase equipment such as kennels and veterinary supplies, Jose said the shelter itself will still be built using county funding, costing roughly $20 million.

The project is currently in the design phase, with architects finalizing plans before permitting and groundbreaking. Construction is expected to begin around August or September, with an expected opening in summer 2027.

The new facility will have space for around 200 dogs and 100 cats and will have climate-controlled kennels, medical suites and outdoor play yards. Veterinary services available to the public will include vaccinations, microchipping and spay-and-neuter procedures.

Officials said the South Dade location will help bring shelter services closer to residents who live farther from the county’s main facility in Doral at 3599 N.W. 79th Ave.

“Miami-Dade County is a very vast county,” Jose said. “We wanted to have a presence in the south. …There’s more land and more stray dogs, so we wanted to be accessible to the residents on the south end of the county.”

Although the South Dade location will offer adoptions and veterinary care, the county’s main shelter in Doral will remain the primary intake facility. Residents who need to surrender pets or bring in stray animals will still be directed there.

Jose said centralizing intake allows animal services staff to determine the best placement for each animal, a process known as “pathway planning.”

“We want to make decisions based on what is the best pathway when an animal enters the shelter,” she said. “Ultimately, maybe we’ll learn what kinds of dogs get adopted the quickest down south and keep that population going there, but the goal is always to keep the dogs in the shelter for as little time as possible.”

Miami-Dade struggles with overcrowded animal shelters

The project comes as Miami-Dade continues to struggle with overcrowding at its shelters.

The Doral facility was originally designed to house 350 dogs but currently cares for about 535, forcing many dogs to share kennel space. The kennels are designed with two connected compartments separated by a divider, known as a “guillotine door.” In normal conditions, one dog would have access to both sides of the kennel, with one side used for eating and resting and the other side used for the dog to relieve itself.

“In a perfect world, there would be one dog in each kennel,” Jose said. “Right now, we’re keeping the kennel dividers down and putting a dog on each side, so they have less space for themselves.”

Housing dogs individually reduces stress, improves their overall health and helps present them better to potential adopters, she said.

“When animals are stressed, they’re more likely to get sick, and it’s harder for them to overcome disease,” Jose said. “Being able to have this new facility means dogs will be housed in single runs instead of having to co-house them.”

The new shelter is also expected to increase adoption opportunities by bringing services closer to South Dade residents.

“I think what it’s going to do is make adoptions more accessible to people that live in the south,” Jose said. “There are still a lot of people in this community who don’t know there is a county shelter or where it’s located. This is going to bring more awareness about our services and make adoption from your municipal shelter much easier.”

The shelter, sponsored by Commissioner Juan Carlos Bermudez, is part of a public-private partnership between Miami-Dade County and UniCapital Medley QOZB LLC. Under the agreement, the county will transfer the Medley shelter property to the developer, which will build at least 100 income-restricted affordable housing units there. In exchange, the county will receive land where the new shelter will be constructed.

“I’m proud to support this important project that benefits both our residents and our animals,” Bermudez said in a statement. “This new facility represents a significant step forward in providing better care for shelter pets while adding much needed housing in District 12. It’s a great example of how we can work together to build a stronger, more compassionate Miami-Dade.”