Survey of Stray Dogs Attempts to Put Number of Safety Concerns

Detroit residents have incessantly complained that packs of dogs have terrorized various neighborhoods for years, according to NY Times.

Jessie Clarke, 65, is one of the many who have complained after she was attacked by two pit bulls outside of her east side home in April. So far, there have been no reliable way to know how many stray dogs are there but residents have guessed that the numbers have reached thousands. But Tom McPhee, a filmmaker and executive director of the World Animal Awareness Society, based in Ann Arbor, Mich., hopes a two-day survey will put a number to the problem. Dozens of stitches have left scars on Ms. Clarke's left arm, a reminder of the attack. Similar marks remain on one of her legs.

"There was a lot of biting. There were a lot of stitches," Ms. Clarke said, looking through her dining room window at the spot where she was attacked. More than 30,000 vacant houses and buildings, once homes for Detroit residents, are now havens for animals. Mr. McPhee said he planned to share the results of the survey to find a way to deal humanely with what has become a safety risk as the stray dogs breed, increasing their population while the city's human population falls.

"With so many houses open that way, there's also a lot of rats," Mr. McPhee said. "That's when we start to have health problems as the rats and the dogs meet." Detroit became the largest American city to file for bankruptcy protection in July. The city's state-appointed emergency manager, Kevyn Orr, says the city needs to find money to hire more "dog catchers."