MIAMI -- After 40 years of collecting and selling pricey antiques, 62-year-old Diana Peters traded in her old valuables for unwanted animals.

"I'm living a very different life than I did just five months ago," Peters told Local 10's Jonathan Vigliotti.

Peters is the founder of Death Row Dogs, a nonprofit rescue group that she operates in Southwest Miami-Dade County.

"These are my death row dogs," Peters said as dozens of dogs scrambled out for their daily exercise. "All of them were minutes away from being killed."

Peters' mission is to rescue and find home for dogs who were about to be killed in overcrowded shelters.

"Every time I look in their eyes, I think about how they would all be dead," Peters said.

Her new career began in February when she visited Miami-Dade Animal Services to look for a pet. It was during that visit that she heard what she calls shocking statistics from the shelter staff.

"They told me 100 dogs are killed every single day," Peters said.

Aileen Sanchez, Miami-Dade Animal Services' Adoption Coordinator, confirmed that statistic.

"There's just not enough room here. Every month we have over 700 dogs dropped off. That's about 100 more dogs than we were getting last year," Sanchez said.

Sanchez said many pet owners blame financial problems for their inability to keep their dogs.

"Financial reasons are playing a big role. A lot of people are forced to move to homes that don't allow pets," she said.

During her first visit to the shelter, Peters left with one dog. But she returned each week for more. In the past five months, Peters said she's rescued about 400 dogs.

On Tuesday, she Local 10 was there when she made her weekly visit.

"We're going to find you a beautiful new home," Peters said to her latest adoptee, a Yorkshire terrier named Peggy Sue. Death Row Dogs will be Peggy Sue's new home until Peters finds her a permanent family.

With the help of Internet sites like Petfinder and Craigslist, the dogs she rescues are usually adopted in a few days. The $100 fee she charges to adopt a dog covers what she pays at the shelter.

Peters said she's never had a month where she didn't break into her savings to cover costs.

"I spend about $3,000 a month. That covers food and any medicine they may need," she said.

Meanwhile, Peters uses the money from her antiques to keep going. She said as long as shelters are overcrowded, she will find a way to give death row dogs another home.

"The reward I get for saving these guys, you can't get that for $10,000,000," she said.

For more information, or to adopt one of the rescued dogs, call 305-242-9262 or visit: Diana's Death Row Dogs