00:00:00
for 14 long years my dog Kelly was the
00:00:03
absolute Joy Of My Life I didn't look at
00:00:06
her like a dawn but more is like a
00:00:08
little sister and that's why for the
00:00:10
life of me I can't understand why
00:00:12
someone abuses their pet
00:00:14
sadly it's a major problem and an issue
00:00:17
playing out right here in the city of
00:00:19
Detroit
00:00:20
[Music]
00:00:26
a Macomb County veterinarian formerly
00:00:28
charged today with animal cruelty
00:00:32
funded didn't sit that dog out in that
00:00:35
video
00:00:37
hi those animals were in this hot house
00:00:39
God knows for how no there is growing
00:00:42
outrage after no charges are filed after
00:00:44
video goes viral showing a puppy being
00:00:46
abused
00:00:49
foreign
00:00:49
animal abuse cases have exploded in the
00:00:52
state of Michigan According to some of
00:00:55
the only michigan-specific crime stats
00:00:57
we could find animal cruelty incidents
00:00:59
left from 123 in 2016 to 607 in 2021.
00:01:05
all of that is very clear here in the
00:01:07
Motor City we see horrific horrific
00:01:10
things you know unfortunately we just
00:01:12
got dog two dogs who were burned with
00:01:13
scalding water we see gunshots we see
00:01:17
choking with extension cords a lot of
00:01:19
times it's guessing how different
00:01:21
scenarios played out for dogs but what
00:01:23
we do see is clearly the marks on their
00:01:25
skin that tell a certain story and these
00:01:29
stories are tragic but we've found
00:01:31
Solutions like listing and tracking
00:01:33
animal abusers I'll explain what that
00:01:36
looks like in a moment but Myron golden
00:01:39
is an animal abuse investigator with
00:01:41
Michigan Humane usually he's the first
00:01:43
one to come into contact with some of
00:01:45
the worst animal cruelty cases the city
00:01:47
has to offer emergency rescue stuff we
00:01:50
do get the cases where the dog is
00:01:52
already pick up deceased animals
00:01:54
sometime situations cruelty cases we get
00:01:57
dogs that they're just so far gone where
00:01:59
they can't be treated and we pick up
00:02:01
dogs that's been hit by cars shot
00:02:03
stabbed burn in conditions where they're
00:02:06
no longer treatable
00:02:08
and just the last few months we've seen
00:02:10
a dog buried alive and several others
00:02:12
nearly beaten to death some simply
00:02:14
because of a domestic abuse situation
00:02:16
Detroit dog rescue is one of the
00:02:19
organizations hoping to stop it all
00:02:22
our city is
00:02:24
has so much resilience and we've seen so
00:02:26
much growth in the past few years but we
00:02:28
have to remember it wasn't that long ago
00:02:29
we were talking about bankruptcy we were
00:02:31
talking about foreclosure so when you
00:02:33
have all of those things it's kind of
00:02:35
the unfortunately perfect storm for
00:02:38
animal abuse anger rage all of those
00:02:41
things you know drug abuse all of those
00:02:44
things lead to animal abuse
00:02:45
[Music]
00:02:51
sometimes it can be too much but at
00:02:54
least Michigan Humane has the authority
00:02:56
to do something about it from a legal
00:02:58
perspective we prosecute we write
00:03:00
warrants we go to court you know people
00:03:02
go to jail
00:03:04
but still for some reason the last few
00:03:06
years have been outrageous in terms of
00:03:08
the cases
00:03:11
over a decade at Detroit dog rescue we
00:03:13
have seen some of the worst of the worst
00:03:16
when it comes to animal abuse
00:03:18
executive director Christina Rinaldi
00:03:20
says the abuse can lead to so many other
00:03:22
negative factors playing out even in
00:03:25
human behavior a lot of the times
00:03:27
unfortunately that leads to child abuse
00:03:30
domestic abuse where you find animal
00:03:33
abuse that is only usually the tip of
00:03:35
the iceberg we've gone on cases with
00:03:37
Detroit police where the animal abuse
00:03:39
has actually led to evidence of human
00:03:41
trafficking all of those things but why
00:03:44
does it continue to happen specifically
00:03:46
in the city of Detroit
00:03:49
a lot of the time it's not even
00:03:50
intentional sometimes when we arrive on
00:03:53
an Outreach call a neighbor just doesn't
00:03:55
know doesn't know how to properly secure
00:03:57
their dog doesn't know how to properly
00:03:59
feed their dog so if we can provide the
00:04:01
resources we're happy to do so
00:04:05
that seems to be the common theme with
00:04:07
many groups trying their best to make
00:04:09
sure owners know what's wrong and what's
00:04:11
right I think that a lot of times
00:04:13
especially in cases like embedded collar
00:04:16
I don't necessarily think it's someone
00:04:17
who's going
00:04:19
out and trying to cause harm to an
00:04:22
animal but it's it's a case of of
00:04:24
somebody not being educated
00:04:25
[Music]
00:04:27
Rebel dogs Detroit is a group that's
00:04:29
been working to spread Awareness on the
00:04:31
matter Juniper Fleming is the executive
00:04:33
director
00:04:34
always asking owners on the verge of
00:04:37
being neglectful if there's anything her
00:04:39
organization can do to help all right
00:04:41
would you be interested in learning
00:04:43
about resources that give out free
00:04:46
crates so you can bring your dog inside
00:04:48
on cold days or free igloos so at least
00:04:51
your dog has a warm house on a cold day
00:04:54
or would you be interested in me
00:04:56
purchasing a collar or have you heard of
00:04:59
free spaying and neutering programs
00:05:01
those are the kind of resources that are
00:05:02
out there in Detroit right side
00:05:05
the group has been working to play stray
00:05:08
dogs just like this little guy
00:05:10
somehow these animals after the abuse or
00:05:13
the neglect they've made it onto the
00:05:15
streets and we're not fully sure how
00:05:17
that happens we're not sure if people
00:05:19
let them go because they feel like they
00:05:22
can't do anything or they don't want to
00:05:23
do anything
00:05:25
they also help to find Fosters and
00:05:27
eventual forever homes for the canines
00:05:29
the ones who can however find sanctuary
00:05:32
in the group's no kill shelter located
00:05:34
on Detroit's west side if you see
00:05:37
someone either your neighbor or friend
00:05:41
or a family member who is neglecting
00:05:43
either on purpose or by accident a dog
00:05:46
starting a dialogue with them being in
00:05:48
communication starting with the first
00:05:51
question of like what might you need for
00:05:53
support it can be overwhelming if you
00:05:55
start thinking about how pervasive the
00:05:58
issue really is but just seeing it as
00:06:00
one conversation at a time and doing
00:06:02
what you can to address your immediate
00:06:04
Community can be a really great way to
00:06:07
have an active impact
00:06:11
another major issue is dog fighting
00:06:14
which in a way is one of the problems
00:06:15
with the solution these rings are so
00:06:18
underground sometimes they can fly away
00:06:20
under the radar and ride under a
00:06:22
neighbor's nose
00:06:24
every year hundreds of pit bulls are
00:06:26
seized in dong fighting rings the sad
00:06:28
part is that sometimes the people
00:06:30
responsible don't see anything wrong we
00:06:33
got videos of children at dog fighting
00:06:35
dog fights like children like three four
00:06:37
years old and they're just watching dog
00:06:39
fights so their entire life they don't
00:06:41
see the issue in it so then you know
00:06:43
they grow up and now they're an adult
00:06:45
and that's what their cousins and uncles
00:06:47
and fathers and you know the older
00:06:48
gentlemen around them did so they
00:06:51
naturally sealed a void and step in
00:06:53
their shoes the good news is that the
00:06:55
state of Michigan is creating a new
00:06:56
animal abuse registry to keep track of
00:06:59
those accused of dog fighting and those
00:07:01
who are cruel to animals Juniper says
00:07:04
it's a great start but there needs to be
00:07:06
more done my first thought is that there
00:07:10
should be a limit of you're not allowed
00:07:12
to own a dog or you're not allowed to
00:07:14
own a pet or whatever because otherwise
00:07:17
what really is the point okay I know my
00:07:19
neighbor has an animal abuse charge but
00:07:22
what can I do about it
00:07:24
the bottom line is if you see something
00:07:27
say something as it can make a
00:07:29
difference in the dog's life down the
00:07:31
line
00:07:32
we pick up dogs to the point there so
00:07:34
emaciated and lethargic to they can't
00:07:37
even walk anymore and then on the other
00:07:39
end we bring animals in in those
00:07:42
conditions and then you see them going
00:07:43
up for adoption three four months later
00:07:45
fat and happy it's it's hard when you
00:07:47
see it up front but it's very rewarding
00:07:49
on the other end
00:07:51
and even though they're making a
00:07:52
difference themselves the law and rescue
00:07:55
groups can't do it alone
00:07:57
I think what keeps me going and the
00:08:00
Detroit dog rescue team going are there
00:08:02
are agencies like Detroit police Detroit
00:08:04
fire uh that are working so hard to
00:08:08
rectify some of these situations and
00:08:10
together
00:08:11
we have made progress in the last decade
00:08:14
that I've been doing this and that is
00:08:17
that's what keeps me going
00:08:20
remember these guys are family who only
00:08:22
want to make you happy at the end of the
00:08:24
day so why not give them just a little
00:08:26
bit more when they give you their all so
00:08:29
if you see something call the
00:08:30
authorities keep an eye on the
00:08:32
neighbor's dog and remember to respect
00:08:34
your own
00:08:42
there is a lot to discuss here and we'd
00:08:45
like to hear your opinions drop a
00:08:47
comment below and make sure you hit
00:08:48
subscribe to stay up to date with
00:08:51
solutionaries
