The demolition of what was left of the Surfside building, whose collapse on June 24 caused 27 deaths and 118 missing, allowed rescue teams to return to work in the search for possible survivors, but it has not been without drama and controversial: neighbors of the condominium who managed to save their lives on the night of the tragedy tried to prevent the controlled collapse from taking place in court without first saving all the domestic animals they left behind.
The appearance of a cat on Saturday on the balcony of one of the houses that did not collapse gave hope to the neighbors who could not take their animals with them when they emergency evacuated the condominium.
Among the pets left in the homes were at least one dog on the ninth floor and two parrots and a cat on the 10th floor, authorities said.
Meet Oreo, a dog who works searching for people in the rubble of Surfside
June 28, 202102: 34
The arrival of Tropical Storm Elsa, which threatens to dump heavy rains accompanied by violent gusts of wind in South Florida, precipitated the decision to demolish what was left of the residential complex, given the danger it posed for emergency teams.
On the same day the cat was spotted walking on a balcony, Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said at least three searches had been conducted to find pets.
Specialized cameras and drones were used in them, but no animals were found.
[Most of the board of directors of the Surfside building resigned in 2019 due to disputes over the repairs]
The engineers "are aware [that there may be live pets] and do their best to do an additional search," the mayor assured over the weekend.
However, he ruled out a door-to-door search due to the risk that rescuers would have to face.
A firefighter, on a crane, tried last week to find Coco, the cat of two women who lived in an apartment on the fourth floor of the tower that remained standing.
They both managed to escape with their dog, Rigatoni, but did not have time to take the cat away.
Firefighter finds his deceased daughter under the rubble of a collapsed building in Miami
July 2, 202103: 09
When the authorities confirmed that the demolition was going to take place, a group of neighbors took the case before a Miami judge to paralyze the plans.
One plaintiff stated that she was willing to enter personally and accepted the risk involved in rescuing her pet.
But Judge Judge Michael Henzman denied their request, after authorities confirmed they had not found any animals despite finally conducting a search of each apartment, including looking under the beds.
"We did everything we could to find the pets that could have been inside the building before the demolition," said the mayor on Monday, "the decision to demolish the building was extremely difficult, it was not taken lightly."
["Take care and be careful." Biden offers his support to families and rescuers at Surfside]
With the detonation of the explosives located inside the structure on Sunday night, the hopes of reuniting with these very special members of each family were left behind.
"People depend on them for their mental stability and comfort," said Ken Russell, a Miami city official, "to know that they have left their animal is a tremendous feeling of guilt."
With information from AP and NBC News.