Stray dogs roaming the ruins of Detroit

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.

Clarke's left arm shows scar tissue from dozens of stitches used to close a gash ripped by the pit bulls. Similar marks are on one of her legs.

"There was a lot of biting. There were a lot of stitches," Clarke said from her dining room, looking through a window at the spot of the attack.

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. Read more >>