Miami-Dade officials remind pet owners to keep their furry friends safe from the heat as summer begins

With the summer season officially starting on Friday representatives in Miami-Dade are spreading the word to make sure residents keep their pets safe from the heat Personnel on Friday morning held an event at the Miami-Dade County Animal Services facility in Doral where they spoke about the importance of protecting your animals through extreme heat hurricanes and upcoming fireworks in July Jimmy Morales the county s chief operating officer also made a plea to residents to consider adopting as certain shelters continue struggling with overcrowding Now is the time to open your hearts and homes make adoption your only option he announced Even fostering a pet for the summer just for the summer can make a big difference but we hope you ll end up keeping them forever Particular shelters including several in Broward County are reporting their shelters are exceeding maximum by Several other tips administrators mentioned were to never leave your pet inside a parked car reliably provide them with access to cold fresh water and to make sure they have access to shade or a ventilated area