Category: News


Pit Bull Ban is Over

From the Miami Herald on October 3, 2023 (originally published online October 2, 2023):

Zoey, a 5-year-old pit bull, sits under the palm trees alongside owner Norman Cornavaca and friend Jimmy Amador as they enjoyed a sunny day at South Pointe Beach on Monday, June 3, 2019. DAVID SANTIAGO dsantiago@miamiherald.com

Animal Services Director Resigns

From the Miami Herald on September 27, 2023 (originally published online September 26, 2023):

Bronwyn Stanford, Miami-Dade County’s new Animal Services director, pauses after her appointment was presented to the County Commission on Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021. On Sept. 26, 2023, she resigned her $212,000 post at the request of Mayor Daniella Levine Cava.

Click here for the September 24, 2023 story about the countersuit.

Click here for the July 15th and 18th, 2023 stories about the original lawsuit and the Director’s suspension.

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Animal Services Director fights back

From the Miami Herald on September 24, 2023 (originally published online September 22, 2023):

Yolanda Berkowitz founded the Friends of Miami Animals Foundation, a charity that helps Miami-Dade County’s Animal Services Department. She’s pictured here with her husband, Miami developer Jeff Berkowitz. Courtesy/Young Arts

Click here for a story on the August Inspector General’s report mentioned above.

Click here for the July 15th and 18th, 2023 stories about the original lawsuit and the Director’s suspension.

Budget passes without Pets’ Trust

We’re very disappointed. We falsely hoped the Pets’ Trust Plan could start on October 1, 2023. The Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners ignored us in the 2023-2024 budget. However, they did, again, increase the budget for the Animal Services department plus add a little extra slush money. When will they learn? The Animal Services budget has now quadrupled from where it was when the Pets’ Trust idea began, and the key results aren’t changing!

Here’s Doug Hanks’ September 23, 2023 story from the Miami Herald:

Not allowed to mention the Mayor

Source: Doug Hanks’ September 22, 2023 story in the Miami Herald, originally published online September 21st:

You can speak at Miami-Dade commission meetings. Just don’t criticize a commissioner

Chairman Gilbert criticizes Pets’ Trust supporter for referencing the Mayor.

At the Sept. 7, 2023 budget hearing before the Miami-Dade County Commission, Kendall resident Sharon Shaw criticized Mayor Daniella Levine Cava by name in her remarks. That prompted a reminder from Oliver Gilbert, chair of the County Commission, of board rules prohibiting public speakers from mentioning individuals in their comments.…

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Commissioner McGhee is Plan-Blocking

Why say you’ll support the Plan when all you do is block it?

Even though Commissioners Cohen Higgins and Regalado want to support the Pets’ Trust Plan, they can’t because they’re being PLAN-BLOCKED by Commissioner Kionne McGhee. He’s perversely using an arcane rule (see Rule 5.06(a)(4) in the BCC Rules of Procedure) to prevent them from working with the other Commissioners to implement the Plan. That’s right, one Commissioner has the power to stop the remaining 12 from discussing an item!

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Setting the record straight

Let’s set the record straight.  Recently, lies and negative accusations about us and our organization have been spreading in the press and on social media, especially these two lies:  1) the money would go to or be controlled by our organization and 2) the money would be used to build lavish spay/neuter centers.  These are simply false.  But they are effective in bolstering negative sentiments, especially when they originate from The Miami Herald and a local politician with a large following who is the wife of a prominent veterinarian and President of the Miami Veterinary Foundation. …

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Rally at the Budget Meeting

On September 7, 2023, approximately 80 red-shirted people attended a rally in support of the Pets’ Trust Plan outside County Hall before the 2023-2024 Budget Meeting. Many people spoke to the Commissioners about the plight of animals in our County. Each speaker was given only one minute to say their name, address and their message.

Commissioner Cohen Higgins addressing the entire Board of County Commissioners, September 7, 2023, made this astute assertion:

“The Pets’ Trust is not for the Mayor to implement; the Pets’ Trust is for us as a body to implement, should we so desire.

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The Herald spreads lies

The Miami Herald’s September 3, 2023 editorial (you can read it and our rebuttal below) really missed the mark by spreading a dangerous lie that started in 2013 to destroy the Pets’ Trust Plan. If the Herald’s Editorial Board had only watched their own movie Political Animals, they would know that the Pets’ Trust Plan does NOT give money to the Pets’ Trust organization. Implying that it does is a political ploy to kill the project.…

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Animal Services Director’s Free X-Rays

From the Miami Herald on August 20, 2023 (originally published online August 18, 2023):

Later that morning, Stanford texted another administrator under her, clinic coordinator Meredith Hippert, with a question: “Anything on Piper?” Hippert texted back images of the four X-rays performed on Piper with county equipment.

Peaceful Protest – August 12, 2023

On Saturday, August 12th there was a PEACEFUL PROTEST FOR OUR ANIMALS at the old Miami-Dade Animal Shelter, 7401 NW 74th Street, Medley.

Rita’s Opening Statement:


Conditions are deplorable for animals in the shelter. Cats and dogs are suffering. We must let our Mayor and Commissioners know that we demand immediate action.

Dogs with NO WATER in feels-like 105° heat — why?
Tuesday, August 8, 2023 1:00 p.m.


Protesters either drove themselves to the protest or met at 11 a.m.…

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Raquel Regalado at town hall says she’ll sponsor, support a Pets’ Trust program

By Elaine De Valle (aka, Ladra) May 19, 2023 – published here on Political Cortadito

Remember the Pets’ Trust?

A whopping 64% of us approved this initiative on a non-binding ballot question in 2012. It aimed to direct budget dollars for animal services to a massive spay and neuter program to take care of the stray and abandoned dogs and cats that are overpopulating, particularly in the southwestern part of Miami-Dade. The Miami-Dade Commission and then-mayor Carlos Gimenez decided to ignore us.…

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Pets’ Trust another ‘broken promise’

Letter written to The Miami Herald by Janet Carbelli – Published May 16, 2023

Congratulations to the Miami Herald on the well-deserved Pulitzer Prize for the “Broken Promises” editorial series. This reminder of our representatives’ failures over the years to fulfill voters’ wishes is more than disheartening.

One of those wishes was funding for Pets’ Trust Miami. I was one of the 65% of voters who supported funding the initiative (costs would have been less than $20 per household per year).…

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Stop the stray and abandoned animals from reproducing

On March 7, 2023, Michael Rosenberg was asked to speak to the Miami-Dade County Board of County Commissioners (BCC) where he emphasized the importance of preventing stray and abandoned animals from reproducing by increasing spay and neuter surgeries fourfold. Thanks to Commissioner Danielle Cohen Higgins for inviting Michael and then for leading the BCC in a much needed discussion on animal welfare. You can watch Michael’s speech here:

 

Later that same day Commissioner Danielle Cohen Higgins led the other Commissioners, Mayor Cava and Animal Services Director Bronwyn Stanford in a discussion about our County’s animal overpopulation problem.…

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Miami-Dade shelter is drowning in cats and dogs. The Pets’ Trust is the obvious solution.

Written By Michael Rosenberg, michael@petstrustmiami.com – Published in the Miami Herald, February 3, 2023

After reading Doug Hanks’ Jan. 25 front-page story, “No room in the kennel,” I am not going to say, “We told you so.” However, after observing Miami-Dade Animal Services for the past 10 years, it confirms that, when almost 500,000 Miami-Dade County residents voted for the Pets’ Trust in 2012 (nearly 65% of the voters), we know what needs to be done.…

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No room in the kennel

Wow! Doug Hanks’ extensive exposé on problems at the Miami-Dade Animal Shelter was published in The Miami Herald today. You can read the entire story here.

Pets’ Trust Founder Michael Rosenberg Candidate for Commissioner – District Seven (7)

By Community News Releases published July 8, 2020

Community Newspapers has followed the journey of the Pets’ Trust for years.  In 2012, almost 500,000 people, 65 per cent of the voters, said ‘YES to a slight increase in property taxes to create a life-saving program for our pets, our cats and dogs.  The initiative was to help stem the animal overpopulation problem and to stop the killing of so many animals at the shelter.

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In rejecting Pets’ Trust, Miami-Dade leaders turned their backs on voters’ will

In 2012, 483,491 Miami-Dade residents voted for a straw ballot initiative that proposed improving animal services in the county. The services included “decreasing the killing of adoptable dogs and cats” by “funding free and low-cost spay/neuter programs, low-cost vet care and responsible pet ownership educational programs.”

The proposal would create a dedicated source of funding by a tax increase that would raise homeowners’ yearly taxes by about $20.…

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More lies from a desperate Carlos Gimenez vs Pets’ Trust

By Elaine DeValle, a.k.a., Ladra, Published on Political Cortadito September 20, 2016

It’s like he’s been backed into a corner.

Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez lied again last week and slandered, again, a pair of animal activists who gimenezcluelessworked hard to get the Pets’ Trust Initiative passed by 65% of the voters in 2012 and who are brave enough to keep fighting ever since for that vote to be respected.

Michael Rosenberg and Rita Schwartz certainly have been very active in politics since Gimenez first funded the Pets Trust initiative and then scratched it in 2013.…

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Man ends weekend-long sit-in inside cage at Miami-Dade Animal Services

Published: 
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The Pets’ Trust raises awareness for adoption, initiative on November 6 ballot

MEDLEY, Fla. – A South Florida man ended his weekend-long sit-in inside an animal cage on Sunday. Michael Rosenberg had been locked up at Miami-Dade Animal Services since Friday, as he tried to raise support for an initiative that’s on the November 6 ballot in Miami-Dade County.

Rosenberg, the President of The Pets’ Trust, spent three days and two nights inside a small space at the end of a row of chain link cages.…

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Man begins stay in cage at Miami-Dade Animal Services

Published: 

The Pets’ Trust raises awareness for adoption, initiative on November 6 ballot

MEDLEY, Fla. – A South Florida man began his stay locked in a cage at Miami-Dade Animal Services to draw attention and support for an initiative that’s on the Nov. 6 ballot in Miami-Dade County.

Michael Rosenberg, the President of The Pets’ Trust, was booked into the animal shelter at 2 p.m. Friday as a 5-year-old male coyote.…

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Pets’ Trust Founder Begins Weekend In Animal Shelter Cage

October 5, 2012 7:05 PM

MIAMI (CBSMiami) – A Kendall businessman is putting the spotlight on South Florida’s homeless pet crisis by spending the weekend in a cage at Miami-Dade Animal Services.

Michael Rosenberg is the founder of Pets’ Trust Miami and will spend the weekend in a cage on behalf of the Pets’ Trust Initiative which is on the November 6th ballot.

He was surrendered, just like thousands of unwanted pets each year, into a cage at 5:00 p.m.…

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