Politicos pose with pets; insult our intelligence with photo ops

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Awwwwww. Ain’t that sweet?

Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos “Cry Wolf” Gimenez and Commissioner Jose “Pepe” Diaz snuggled up with some cute little puppies Wednesday in Doral as they debuted the county’s new HOPE Mobile, which will travel around from place to place in an effort to drum up more pet adoptions. While we don’t know how many of the dogs and cats who got families Wednesday were actually from the shelter — because, at these type of events, some are typically from the foster homes they’ve already been placed in — there were 23 dogs and 6 cats adopted.

But while our furry politicos cozied up to the canines, other animals had run out their five-day clock just a couple miles away at the Miami-Dade Animal Services “shelter” in Medley — which is like calling Death Row “transitional housing.” So they were put to eternal sleep. Sixteen dogs and five cats were killed on Wednesday, the same day as the adoption stunt. Twenty more dogs and six cats were killed on Tuesday and 23 dogs and three cats on Monday, according to “outcome memos” that are sent to different individuals in the community.

Don’t be fooled, people. These multiple adoption events — Ladra calls them puppy photo ops — and the spay and neuter days at area parks and shopping plazas are just a band-aid publicity stunt to cover the fact that the mayor and commission have completely ignored the people’s will and refuse to adequately fund a real program that will make a real difference (more on that later).

Adoptions is only a small part of that program. Because for every animal that went out Wednesday, more come in. A comprehensive, full-time spay and neuter program — not part-time, “when we can get to it,” spay and neuter workshops by area vets — is what most experts say has to be beefed up. That is what people voted for when they went out en masse and by 64% approved a non-binding question about paying $10 more for every $100,000 of taxable property to get to the point where healthy animals are not killed simply because they are abandoned and homeless.

It actually costs us more to kill these creatures than it would to stop the procreation explosion. The county spends about $300 per animal that it keeps for five days before his or her time is up and then inject it with a solution that will take the light out of their eyes in seconds. That’s for 26 dogs and nine cats July 1st, 14 dogs and one cat July 2nd, 10 dogs and 10 cats July 3rd, 17 dogs and eight cats July 5th, seven dogs and a cat July 6th. And so on. And so on. And so on.

The county kills thousands of dog and cats every year, and Ladra has been told that the number is actually higher than what is reported because of a change in procedure where people who volunteer (read: or are convinced) to have their pets “put to sleep” are not counted in those figures. So, basically, we’re paying millions for a program that kills healthy animals and makes no real effort to curb the overpopulation — which is the real problem — that keeps bringing them to their Death Row.

We the people were told all about this before we voted in 2012 to change our system. Our electeds had told the Pet’s Trust people that if they got the votes, they could have their no-kill program. But when the Pet’s Trust came back with an overwhelming win, they forgot that. They decided that some doubletalk was better than delivering on a promise. And while the mayor threw another $4 million at animal services — for $14 million in total — that is not what the Pet’s Trust initiative advocated for. What has that money been spent on and where is the oversight committee that is supposed to be accounting for it? (Really, more on that later).

And that decision has kept the revolving door spinning at Ward A —  or more appropriately, the killing room — where dogs and cats are taken to have their life snuffed out of them. In one instance, when Pet’s Trust founder and president Michael Rosenberg spent some time in the death chamber, one dog came in and was delighted to finally be free of his cage, to find people there to finally pay attention to him. He jumped for joy and wagged his tail like a windshield wiper. He wanted to play. Rosenberg asked the attending vet not to kill that dog. He was healthy, adorable, adoptable. The vet told him to pick another one. His time was up..

Maybe Gimenez or Diaz ought to take some Facebook pics in Ward A. But, hey, they wouldn’t look so good on a website or a campaign mailer. Why do you think they chose to unveil the HOPE Mobile in Doral? Because it’s in Diaz’s district and he is facing a re-election. How much you wanna bet they take it next to District 8, where Vice Chair Lynda Bell is facing a tough race of her own and introduced an ordinance Wednesday, which passed through committee, that limits the breeding of animals in an effort to stop puppy mills. You know, because puppy mills are so concerned with following the law.

Maybe Bell can get Gimenez to come out and hold a puppy with her at her event.

Guess who else is facing opposition: Miami-Dade Commissioner Javier Souto — who also went against the people’s will last year and voted against the Pet’s Trust Initiative for spaying and neutering that was approved by 64% of the voters —  allocated $1,000 of his six-figure, annual discretionary office fund to offer free spay and neuter services for residents.

“I’m committed to doing my part to help control the pet population by providing spay and neuter services so we can reach our goal of being a no-kill County,” Souto said in the press release — I kid you not — announcing his oh so benevolent act.

This is such an obvious campaign stunt. That’s why the press release asks residents of District 10 to call his office directly to make an appointment for one of the slots during the three days the services will be offered at Tropical Park, which is like his private playground. That way, Souto can capture their names and addresses and phone numbers for a campaign follow-up call. We’re on to you, Senador.

“Residents who reside in other areas of the County can schedule an appointment as follows,” the press release says before giving the email and number for The Cat Network, a non-profit that cares for strays and feral cats and provides free and low-cost spay/neuter services throughout the county.

The press release also says that veterinarians — who “may decline surgery of any pet for health reasons” — will conduct the procedures on three different Saturdays: Pet spay/neuter surgeries will be by appointment only on July 13 for cats only, and on July 19 and Aug. 2 for dogs only. Pets must weigh less than 50 pounds, must have their current rabies vaccination, and must be dropped off at 7:30 a.m. to be ready for pickup at 4 p.m. Cats and dogs without a current rabies vaccine who are at least four months old will be vaccinated at the time of surgery, but we don’t know if that’s going to be free. Doubt it.

Rosenberg said that Souto also emailed the people in his district list in recent weeks, encouraging them to register and vote because it is so important.

“I had a meeting with him about that, and told him that 36,000 people in his district voted for the Pets’ Trust, ‘and you did not listen. So, why are you urging your people to vote,'” Rosenberg told Ladra. “Of course, he became very upset and said ‘they wouldn’t vote for it now’ — which is what they all told us last time. And we proved them wrong.”

Oh, and District 10 residents with pets that need to be spayed or neutered, please remember to call Souto’s office at 305-222-2116 to schedule an appointment — so you can later be hounded for your absentee ballot.

After all, this is all for you. Souto didn’t need to shell out $1,000 from his office pocket for this: Commissioners last week also approved a move in which they will loan a veterinarian from the Animal Services Division to the Cat Network’s Meow Mobile for three days a week to provide the same services.

But, hey, if it’s good for the campaign.

Woof!

  Carlos Gimenez, Jose “Pepe” Diaz, Pet’s Trust