(WXYZ) — We’re once again seeing below-zero wind chills in metro Detroit, something that we also saw a few weeks ago.
During that time, we showed you the sad truth, that in freezing temperatures, dogs across the city are tied up with heavy chains and in some cases, dying.
However, the story doesn’t end there. Many of you wanted to know how this is legal. It’s not.
In January, I went out with KAREN (K9 Animal Rescue Emergency Network System) as they went around Detroit in search of dogs. I went out again with them this month, and they showed us dogs are still being chained up outside.
Watch below: My January report with the KARENs as they rescued dogs in the extreme cold
“Both are underweight, both are on illegal chains, this one has an injury to its front leg,” Chantal Rzewnicki said. “It’s sad, look at the life of that, you get to go back and forth on a three-foot chain.”
All year long, there are dogs illegally chained, emaciated, freezing to death. So many of you have asked, “what is going on?” and wondered how it’s legal.
“It’s a vicious cycle. Here we are two weeks later, nothing has changed,” Rzewnicki said.
In Detroit, it is illegal to have a dog on a steel chain, or any tether, other than a coated steel cable. It is illegal to have a dog on a tether that is not at least three times the length of the dog. It is illegal to have a dog tethered for more than three hours per day.
Yet, I was with the KARENS as they visited two dogs – one quite pregnant – illegally chained weeks after they said they called Detroit Animal Care and Control.
Rzewnicki and Melanie Thomas tell me that Detroit Animal Care and Control (DACC) informed them they did come out a few weeks ago and the owner took the dogs inside. But since then, they have checked in to see the dogs living in the same conditions.
“There’s no reason that these follow-ups are not getting done. You can’t tell me you have that many calls,” Thomas said.
“Do you feel that this is a direct example of a follow-up not happening?” I asked.
“Correct,” Rzewnicki said.
“100% correct,” Thomas added.
I took these concerns directly to Crystal Perkins, the director of Detroit’s General Services department, which oversees DACC.
“This dog right here as you can see is pretty pregnant,” I showed her.
“I’ll have to investigate to see what happened,” Perkins said.
“Does the city feel they have adequate staff to respond to these calls?” I asked.
“So we do follow up. We can’t go to a house every single day, as you know, we can only go to educate,” Perkins said. “We can go to educate, we can go out today, we can go out in three days and they’ve made the corrections, but who is to say they didn’t revert back to their old ways?”
DACC released this graphic showing that in January alone, they took in 557 dogs and 60 cats.
Perkins tells me they have 23 DACC officers patrolling every day. When I asked why they don’t always change out the illegal chains and stuff outdoor houses like The KARENS do, I was told it was because they often do not have the supplies on hand.
She said their focus is education, that this treatment of animals is learned.
“I believe because it’s something that has been passed down from generations,” Perkins said. “‘This is how our family always does it.’ ‘I’ve had dogs since I was little, we kept the dogs outside, the dog has fur, we kept the dog on a chain to keep him in the yard,'” she said.
According to Perkins, the first visit from DACC is an opportunity for the dog owner to correct the problem. If they don’t, they’ll be issued a ticket and begin the court process. The goal is to keep animals home and out of the shelter.
Back on the streets with the KARENs, we saw education saving lives first-hand.
“Small frequent meals throughout the day, and then it’ll help get that body weight back up and then we can get you some deworming medicine,” Thomas told one man they visited.
What started as a call for two emaciated, illegally chained dogs has turned into a Detroit dog owner graciously accepting help and committing to a change.
See how The KARENs worked with the man in the video below
“Do you think that there could be more done in the city to let people know about that?” I asked.
“Yes ma’am,” he said. “Telling people about it in Detroit, not to put them around their dog’s necks. But I’m learning a little bit.”
Since we shot this story, Chantal gave me and update and sent photos of the two dogs featured in the video above. She said they have gained weight, and the KARENs have dewormed them and brought them crates so they can stay inside. You can see updated photos of them below.
It’s not perfect, but it’s improvement and it keeps these KARENs fighting for the little guys.
“You watch, in three weeks, we’ll go back there, and they’ll be different dogs,” Rzewnicki said.
The KARENs are 100% donation-based and many of you have been gracious and donated to them after our first story.
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