The City of Detroit has announced that improvements in its animal care and control operations are exceeding initial goals.
Last December city officials promised to invest in making Detroit a safer place for people and pets.
This came four months after a nine-year-old girl was fatally mauled by three dogs as she rode her bike near her Detroit home.
Mark Kumpf directs Detroit's Department of Animal Care and Control.
“We're working to make sure that we provide a better public safety environment where people can feel free to walk down a Detroit street without fear of being accosted by a dangerous animal and to bring wonderful new pets into their homes,” he says.
Kumpf says there was a substantial increase in 2019 compared to the year before in calls animal control officers responded to.
“Our focus is on getting folks to be responsible pet owners, getting the right dogs off the streets and issuing the tickets for those violations that need to go see the judge,” he says.
The city has hired 10 new animal control officers and is investing $3 million for an expansion of the Detroit animal shelter. And the number of animals released for adoption increased.
