CNN’s Randi Kaye talks with Detroit Dog Rescue’s co-founders, Daniel “Hush” Carlisle & Monica Martino (Noodles & Roscoe, too!)
Happy story up there in that CNN video, right? Two amazing people taking it upon themselves to strive for a much needed no-kill shelter for the estimated 50,000 – 100,000 stray dogs running loose & getting hurt or killed on the streets of Detroit & still saving as many dogs as they can in the meantime before they even have the funding or a facility. Well, it almost wasn’t.
Leave it to the infinite failure & lack of vision of Detroit’s City officials to, yet again show that they could care less about animals. There was the Belle Isle Aquarium, which was the oldest continuously operating public aquarium in North America at just a few months shy of 101 years old on the day the City forced it to close its doors. Another fine example is the small yet excellent Belle Isle Zoo, which opened in 1895 but was permanently closed by the City in 2002. These are just two examples of animal-related things that the City of Detroit’s officials have destroyed.
Now, in yet another decidedly animal-unfriendly decision, they have pulled the plug on the Discovery Channel show “Unleashed” that was filming here, citing that the show would have given Detroit a bad image. I must say, ladies & gentlemen of the Detroit city government, that horse already left the gate a long time ago. No, the show wouldn’t have shone a pretty spotlight on Detroit–at first. There’s just no way to put a glittery spin on at least 50,000 stray & starving dogs wandering the urban jungle in the dead of winter. However, rather than having the foresight to see that the show may have had the exact opposite effect in the long-term by bringing attention to the problem from various animal lovers & animal welfare organizations across the country, enabling many of the dogs to be saved or a shelter to be built, they simply voted no go on the show.
Aside from the lack of concern for these strays, that decision was also a negative one for the city of Detroit itself as the show would have reportedly spent $1.4 million in the city for production. Money neither the city of Detroit nor the state of Michigan can really afford to be saying no to right now.
Thankfully, many of the people of Detroit & its surrounding suburbs have the vision & caring that is so apparently lacking in the elected officials. Two people who were spearheading the show, Monica Martino–producer & creator whose work includes the series “Deadliest Catch” & rapper/producer/actor Daniel “Hush” Carlisle have taken it upon themselves to keep the hope for these dogs alive. Forming the all-volunteer501(c)3 non-profit organization, Detroit Dog Rescue, they fully intend to keep going in their efforts to save these dogs & they need the help of all of us to do it. They fully intend to build Detroit’s first no-kill shelter, a goal that’s going to take more than even their current fundraising target amount of one million dollars in order to sustain.
As an animal lover & former veterinary assistant/dog rescuer, I am very grateful to Monica & Hush for not giving up on Detroit when it must’ve seemed like Detroit had given up on them. With all the people out there who blog surf & video surf throughout the day, I can only imagine what would happen for Detroit Dog Rescue if every one of those people donated even a dollar. The results would be truly phenomenal!
For more information on Detroit Dog Rescue please visit:
http://www.detroitdogrescue.com/ or http://www.facebook.com/detroitdogrescue
Warning: Due to the reality of the plight these dogs are facing, the following video clips contain graphic images that may be disturbing to some viewers.
NBC Nightly News features Detroit Dog Rescue in their “Making A Difference” segment:
Detroit Dog Rescue’s short video story detailing the plight of the stray dogs in the city of Detroit:
Audacity She Wrote 