19 dogs removed from 'horrific' Detroit basement

Madelyn Dibley | Special to the Detroit Free Press

The Michigan Humane Society removed 19 dogs from a home on Detroit's east side that rescuers said was littered with trash and dog feces.

The rescue happened at about 3 p.m. on Tuesday after the group received a call from Detroit Police notifying them of 10 dogs inside and nine dogs outside a home near Seven Mile and I-75.

“We had very underweight dogs,” said Andy Seltz, vice president of Field Services at the Michigan Humane Society, said today. “Ribs were exposed, hips were exposed. Some were dehydrated. There was exposed flesh from the repeated bites from multiple flies.”

Seltz described the house as uninhabitable.

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“The basement was horrific,” Seltz said of the room the dogs were found in. “When you walked in, it was right around 90 degrees. The high humidity was the result of dog urine.”

Seltz said the dogs began receiving treatment as soon as they were brought to the humane society. They will continue with their treatments until they are ready for adoption, he said.