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 >>

Two Brothers Patent Toilet Paper Ads

Jordan and Bryan Silverman are offering businesses the chance to advertise on a slightly unusual platform — toilet paper. "It's an unmatched active audience," Jordan, co-founder of Star Toilet Paper, told the Daily News. "A person looks at the average advertisement for two to five seconds. People will look at ours for a lot longer."

The environmentally friendly paper, printed with coupons and ads in soy-bean-based ink, sells for half a cent per ad. Users can redeem the coupons through Star Toilet Paper's website. Venues that want to put in the ad-filled paper in their stalls get the rolls for free. Jordan, a recent graduate of University of Michigan, came up with the innovative marketing plan about two years ago when he found himself taking a minute to look at the wall of a bathroom stall at the Ann Arbor, Mich., campus.

"I was thinking that it's one of the times that people want to read," Jordan, who quickly turned to his brother with the plan, said. "We've really felt that we were on to something." Since then, Jordan, 22, and Bryan, 18, have found that the idea is flush with opportunities. Read more >>