Would You Rent a Stray Dog From the City of Detroit?
A new program from the Friends of Detroit Animal Care and Control invites you to make a new (furry) friend.
Click the audio player above to listen to the full story. CultureShift airs weekdays from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. on 101.9 WDET Detroit Public Radio.
You could say Detroit is going to the dogs this weekend.
The Friends of Detroit Animal Care and Control has started a new program called Detroit Dogventures as part of their mission to “help the homeless animals in our city,” according to their website. The non-profit group directly supports Detroit Animal Care and Control, which is an animal shelter operated by the City of Detroit.
On Sunday, you can check out a dog that’s currently available for adoption at Detroit Animal Care and Control. The event is free and open to the public.
The initiative lets you take a dog for a walk and also invites you to visit a list of pup-friendly businesses throughout the city. The shelter provides things like a collar, leash and harness and other items.
“It’s a one-day foster program,” says Margo Butler, an executive board member of Friends of Detroit Animal Care and Control. “It gets the dogs out of the shelter for at least a few hours and gives them the opportunity to be a real dog.”
Butler says about 5,000 animals come through the Detroit Animal Care and Control in any given year. Most of them are stray dogs while some are left behind by families who have been evicted from their homes.
The shelter in the city’s New Center neighborhood holds about 200 animals at a time and is usually at full capacity.
During a walkthrough of the shelter, WDET reporter Ryan Patrick Hooper met Jenna Martin — an 18-year-old from New Boston, Michigan that was celebrating her birthday by adopting a 2-year-old dog named Boise (pictured above).
“This is all I’ve ever wanted,” says Martin.
Martin says the city-operated shelter offered a large selection of dogs and made the adoption process easy.
“They have a huge selection of dogs that all need homes and I’m kind of a bleeding heart for ’em,” says Martin. “They offer a lot. They gave us a harness with her. That’s really nice.”
Martin says she felt a strong connection to Boise almost immediately.
“She looks like a forever puppy,” says Martin.
Click the audio player above to listen to the full story about Friends of Detroit Animal Care and Control.
