BySHIRA SILKOFF

People are still holding out hope that search and rescue crews will find their beloved pets in the Surfside Champlain Towers complex ahead of the demolition work planned for Sunday.

Although the search and rescue efforts to find the 120 people who are still unaccounted for have been suspended ahead of the demolition, a petition demanding that the demolition be delayed until "all animals are safe," has already garnered close to 4,500 signatures online, according to The Miami Herald.

The only pet to have been rescued from the collapsed tower to date was a dog named Rigatoni, who was found on the fourth flour several hours after the building collapsed. However, at least two other animals are thought to still be alive, and there have been claims that one of them had been seen on a partially destroyed balcony.

The two cats, Coco and Mia, are thought to be alive by their owners who have appealed for rescue missions to be launched in order to reach them ahead of the demolition.

After rumors of Coco being seen on a balcony began to spread, firefighters attempted to rescue the cat, using a cherry picker to reach the balcony where food and water has since been left for her in an attempt to draw her out and keep her alive.

The second cat, Mia, belongs to 62-year-old Susana Alvarez, according to the Washington Post. Alvarez believes there is a chance that her cat may still be alive as she was left behind under the bed when her owner fled the collapsing building. 
I don’t want to undermine the loss that occurred in that building,” Alvarez told the Washington Post. “Mia was beautiful. Mia was my cat. Mia doesn’t deserve to die. But there was a tremendous human loss in that building. If I go on my phone right now, most of the phone numbers that I have here, those people are no longer alive."

On Saturday, Miami-Dade mayor Daniella Levine Cava confirmed that although at least three sweeps to search for pets were conducted, no new animals have been found.

“My heart goes out to those who fear for their animals, and I just want you to know that additional efforts have been made and are being made,” the mayor said in her speech.

An unconfirmed report began circulating on Twitter and in the Facebook group "Rescue the Surfside Cats - Mia & Coco," which stated that two cats had been rescued from the wreckage ahead of the demolitions, although many are skeptical and advise awaiting the next police briefing before trusting the rumors.
According to the Washington Post, the team attempting to rescue the trapped animals are a separate team to those who have been searching for the unaccounted building residents, which has ensured that the efforts do not distract from the ongoing attempt to save human lives.