DETROIT (WXYZ) — Detroit's Rouge Park has become a notorious dumping ground for abandoned dogs, according to local residents who are increasingly concerned about the welfare of these animals.
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Jasmine Gress, who frequently drives through the park with her fiancé, discovered four stray dogs during a recent weekend visit, including one that was deceased.
"It's a never-ending issue. For every dog you pull out, three more are dumped the next day," Gress said.
The park, which is the largest urban park in Michigan, has developed a reputation as a place where unwanted pets are abandoned by their owners.
"This is their freedom, this is the woods, they can be a dog, and that's just not true," Gress said.
The situation has created dangerous conditions for the abandoned animals, who face numerous threats in the unfamiliar environment.
"Dogs are fighting other dogs out here that are also dumped; they are mating and having puppies out here in the woods, and that's no place for puppies to be," Gress said.
According to Gress, this has been an ongoing problem for years, with seemingly little action from authorities. She expressed frustration with the response when attempting to report abandoned animals.
"If you call animal control, they'll get to it when they can, and by then, if the dog is deceased, they do not handle deceased animal calls," Gress said.
When I reached out to the Detroit Police Department about the issue, they referred me to Animal Control.
Crystal Perkins, the director of the General Services Department that oversees Animal Control and Parks Services for the city of Detroit, acknowledged that they have noticed an increase in abandonment cases at Rouge Park.
"We're going to start increasing patrols… It's the largest urban park in the state of Michigan, so we're going to make sure we step up enforcement because this isn't something we want to tolerate," Perkins said.
Due to the park's extensive size, Perkins emphasized that community involvement is essential to address the problem effectively.
"We definitely need the public's help in this. If you see something, please say something," Perkins said.
For residents like Gress, who have taken it upon themselves to rescue abandoned dogs, the emotional toll is significant.
"We're dealing with the grief of-what if I drove through the park 15 minutes earlier, could I have saved this dog? And it's mentally taxing on those just trying to help," Gress said.
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