Make a Difference Dog Rescue in Detroit has faced a number of break-ins to its shelter, and one recent incident left four dogs missing. The rescue team does everything they can with the money raised, but taking care of homeless dogs is no easy task. Luckily, the community got together to find the four dogs, but staffers fear more break-ins will happen if they don’t make serious changes.
So an anonymous donor offered $500,000 to build a safer facility for rescue dogs. If that donation could be doubled by other dog lovers, then the rescue would be enough to pursue his plan.
The Last Straw
Make differences is a no-kill rescue, keeping dogs in a foster home and at a shelter space. The rescue takes in abandoned and unwanted dogs in the Detroit community and finds loving homes for them. Sadly, security at the shelter isn’t the best, so the facility recently faced a fourth break-in. The employee’s worst nightmare occurred when four dogs were stolen.
Willow, Jaxon, Holly and Titus have all been stolen from their shelter along with most of the food crates. Rescuers watched the surveillance video and noted that the thieves caught Titus first, left with him, and returned about 20 minutes later to capture other dogs. So they searched everywhere within a 10-minute radius to find out where the dogs might be.
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Fortunately, staffers Robin Honkanen and Jennifer Moore heard Titus’ barking less than a day after it went missing. The barking leads to an abandoned apartment, where each dog is locked in a separate room. Jaxon was injured and all the dogs were extremely scared, but they are fine now back at the shelter.
“Why break in here?” Moore said. “These are wounded animals that have been through hell. And, you know, we’re trying to find a home for them. Shame on you.
A Better Future for Detroit Dogs
Sadly, rescuers didn’t find out who did this to the dogs and they feared it would happen again. But over the weekend, an anonymous donor promised them $500,000 to build a safer shelter for the dogs. Every time they break into the shelter, they have to rebuild the fences and gates, so a safer facility is better for the participants, both humans and dogs.
The rescue hopes to hit its $1,000,000 goal by the spring of 2023 so they can start building their new facility. They have a few points of note including more space for the dogs, along with advanced security systems.
“We want to remain anonymous, but in light of the recent break-ins, thefts and compromised safety of dogs, we wanted to advance our previously committed support to Make a Difference. $500,000 worth of rescue. This donation is currently being made available on an emergency basis. We are committed to building a new no-kill shelter that will continue to rescue and help Detroit’s unwanted dogs. The city of Detroit needs more shelters to help more dogs and get rid of the remaining dogs running on the street or chained in the backyard,” the sponsor said.
If you want to donate to Make a Difference Rescue’s new facility, you can do so on their website.
Featured pictures: Facebook
