A dog whose condition on a downtown Miami high-rise balcony alarmed neighbors was carried from the building early Saturday after videos of the animal spread across social media. By then, residents and animal rescue volunteers had spent hours trying to determine exactly which apartment the dog was in.
The videos showed the dog lying on the balcony at ParkLine Miami, where neighbors told NBC6 they had seen it for several days. The dog’s apparent thinness and waste visible around the balcony fueled concern about its condition.
Police eventually located the apartment, and Miami-Dade County Animal Services removed the dog at about 1 a.m. Saturday. Police then walked a man from the building in handcuffs.
NBC6, citing Miami-Dade jail records, identified him as Kevin Alexander Benjamin and reported that he was charged with animal cruelty with intent to injure or kill. CBS Miami separately reported Benjamin’s arrest and animal cruelty charge.
Finding The Door
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Catalina Balzano said her first priority after seeing the footage was figuring out where the dog was.
“My first objective was to find out the unit number,” she told NBC6.
Balzano went to the building and began talking with residents. She runs Bentley’s Playhouse, an animal welfare organization that also operates the Fénix Animal Project, which describes itself as an animal rescue and disaster-relief initiative.
What Balzano saw in the video made the search feel urgent.
“He just looked like he wasn’t going to make it for much longer,” she said.
Other people began showing up as word spread online.
“I’m at a loss for words of how the community came together last night, not only on social media, but people showed up,” Balzano said.
That social-media response followed a path Miami-Dade’s own animal welfare system specifically anticipates. County Animal Services guidance instructs 311 staff handling social-media reports of possible animal abuse to identify the address, determine whether an animal cruelty service request already exists, and obtain the apartment number when the reported location is an apartment building.
After Midnight
NBC6 cameras recorded police repeatedly knocking at the apartment without getting an answer.
Around 1 a.m., Balzano recorded Animal Services personnel coming out of the building with the dog.
“That was heartbreaking,” she said. “That was truly heartbreaking because it was just skin and bone.”
Police were then seen escorting Benjamin from the building.
Miami-Dade’s published guidance also lists extremely thin or emaciated animals among signs that should be documented in an abuse complaint. For dogs kept on a second-floor or higher patio, the county directs staff to open an animal cruelty investigation when the area is not properly enclosed and the caller reports that the dog appears emaciated, lacks proper care, or has no food or water.
Those instructions do not establish what happened inside Benjamin’s apartment or prove the criminal allegation against him. His charge remains pending.
Now In Care
Animal Services confirmed to NBC6 that the dog was taken into its care and is receiving medical treatment.
Balzano said nonprofit organizations have been communicating with the agency about helping with rehabilitation expenses.
She also said getting the videos into public view mattered because it allowed people who otherwise had no connection to one another to start putting together where the dog was.
“For me, it’s important that these videos come out,” Balzano said, “because I think it sends a message to the community.”
Miami-Dade says animal cruelty complaints involving abused or neglected animals are assigned to an Animal Services Control Officer, with cruelty reports prioritized by the department. Its guidance directs people who encounter an animal in immediate distress and in need of life-saving medical attention to seek immediate assistance rather than wait for an ordinary complaint investigation.