DETROIT – Dead and alive dogs continue to be abandoned in Detroit’s Rouge Park, and now the city of Detroit is considering installing surveillance cameras there.

Background: Has Detroit done anything about the dogs abandoned in Rouge Park?

This is a first step toward solving a problem that Local 4 first uncovered three months ago. Some people, however, question whether cameras alone will be enough to stop people from dumping animals, trash and junk cars in the park. Rouge Park is one of the largest urban parks in the country, with nearly 1,200 acres of trails, ball fields and other amenities.

“It’s a huge dumping ground, not just for dogs and cats. There are rabbits there too. I’ve already taken two ferrets out of here,” trapper and rescuer Nikki Sheldon told Local 4.

Sheldon spends a lot of time in Rouge Park. She says she can’t not Help the animals that she constantly sees abandoned there.

“It’s one of the most disheartening things to watch an abandoned dog,” Sheldon told Local 4. “They’re running back and forth in the same spot, looking at every car, waiting for their owner to come back. They never come, you know.”

In the last year, Sheldon has rescued nearly 100 dogs and other animals from the park and found them safe homes. However, not all dogs abandoned in Rouge Park get a second chance.

“We find dead dogs here all the time,” Sheldon said, expressing frustration over a problem she believes goes far beyond Rouge Park: “This is a huge problem across the city. This is a city problem.”

Rouge Park is located in Detroit City Councilman Fred Durhal’s seventh district.

“Help is on the way and we’re doing the best we can,” Durhal told Local 4. He said he supports the cameras in Rouge Park “100%.” ​​”We’re looking into it right now,” he said.

Durhal believes security cameras in the park will deter potential wildlife and litter dumpers, and he says cameras in the park make practical sense since the city spends a lot of money picking up illegal trash in the park. “So it’s better to invest up front to make sure we don’t have to pay for it after the fact,” Durhal said. “But I would imagine it would be no different than our green light for our project here in the city of Detroit, which would allow us to provide some level of surveillance without necessarily being too invasive.”

Durhal made it clear, however, that he believes cameras should be used primarily as a deterrent. “I don’t necessarily, necessarily, want to prosecute people,” he said.

Nikki Sheldon disagrees. “I think they need to do something, but it’s not just about the cameras,” she told us. “I think the harsher the punishment for neglecting, abusing, abandoning and killing a dog, the more consequences there need to be to stop other people from doing it. I know there are repeat offenders here,” Sheldon adds, expressing frustration with what she sees as an uncontrolled problem. “Nobody is prosecuted, and if they are, it’s just a slap on the wrist.”

The Detroit City Council is currently on recess. Durhal says when the council reconvenes on Sept. 3, he plans to push for security cameras in Rouge and possibly other city parks and work with the city’s public works department to make it happen.

The City of Detroit has a specific ordinance against abandoning animals in city parks. City Ordinance Section 40-1-17 states: “No person shall abandon, abandon or abandon within the boundaries of any park any carnivorous animal, such as a cat, dog, or any other species of animal which is or may be a threat to the wildlife which is or may hereafter be located within the boundaries of such park.”

In the state of Michigan, neglecting or abandoning an animal is a misdemeanor.

What to do if you find a dead or stray dog ​​in Detroit?

Improve Detroit is a free app that allows city residents to quickly and easily report dead or stray dogs. The app is also handy for reporting other problems like potholes and running water.

For more information about the app, see detroitmi.gov/ImproveDetroit. Residents who do not wish to use the app should call 313-876-0004.