Posted on September 23, 2013

Survey Attempts to Number Detroit’s Stray Dogs

Corey Williams, The Big Story, September 21, 2013

It doesn’t matter to Jessie Clarke how many stray or loose dogs are roaming the ruins of Detroit. After the 65-year-old was attacked by two pit bulls outside of her east side home in April, even one or two is too many.

She’s not alone, as some Detroit residents complain that packs of dogs for years have terrorized various neighborhoods. So far, there’s been no reliable way to know how many there are, though some have guessed it’s in the thousands.

But Tom McPhee, a filmmaker and executive director of the Ann Arbor-based World Animal Awareness Society, hopes a two-day survey that started Saturday will put a number to the problem.

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The more than 30,000 vacant houses and buildings that once were homes for Detroit residents now provide havens and shelter for the animals. McPhee said he plans to share the numbers to find a way to humanely deal with what has become a safety risk as the strays breed, increasing their population even as the city’s population falls.

“With so many houses open that way, there’s also a lot of rats,” McPhee said. “That’s when we start to have health problems as the rats and the dogs meet.”

{snip} State-appointed emergency manager Kevyn Orr says the city needs to find dollars to hire more “dog catchers.”

At 8 a.m. Saturday, volunteers fanned out across Detroit’s 139 square miles. At least one team found the animals elusive. The first 90 minutes Barbara Moran and Nicole Ryan spent in a distressed west-side neighborhood turned up nothing.

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McPhee’s survey is part of his American Strays research project, a documentary in syndication on the Internet. He hopes to use footage from this weekend to produce a feature-length documentary about Detroit’s stray problem. He doesn’t expect results anytime soon.

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The department that handles dog complaints and rounds up strays had only six animal control officers at the start of the year, according to a report by police officials. About 1,700 strays are captured annually.

Markela Reese, 29, can’t remember the last time she saw problem dogs rounded up in her neighborhood, which is near a large wooded park. It’s often used as a dumping ground for unwanted dogs, she says.

“About 12 dogs can be seen running around on any given day,” she said Saturday. “They chase the deer.”

The packs also are threats to people, she added.

“When taking my son to school I have to carry sticks and clubs,” Reese said. “I don’t know if they are going to bite or if they are hungry.”

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