DETROIT (WXYZ) — Detroit Police are investigating after they say a 58-year-old man was found dead after an alleged dog attack.
Police say the victim and his friend went to a building in the 5400 block of W. Fort on Tuesday around 12:40 p.m. after seeing dogs nearby. The two men reportedly tried to help the dogs when the dogs attacked one of the men.
The victim was later found dead at the building. It's unclear if the person he entered the building with was injured in any way.
Animal control workers say when they arrived the animals were docile and easy to secure. The dogs are currently in animal control custody in a mandatory quarantine. Animal handlers will be monitoring the dogs temperament and checking if the animals may have any diseases. Officials say so far, it appears the animals are fully licensed and vaccinated and likely have an owner. It's unclear what will happen to the animals from here.
Neighbors near the area where the alleged attack happened say they were surprised to hear of the incident because they haven't seen unattended dogs in the area as of late.
"There are so many stray dogs. People have asked me to quantify the number. I know 10 years ago, there was a 50k number thrown out. I won’t even try. I just know we have a lot of stray dogs in the city," said Kristina Rinaldi who is the executive director at Detroit Dog Rescue.
Rinaldi says they often get calls from people after they attempt to rescue animals that were unattended or strays. She says it's best to call a professional animal handler rather than approaching an unfamiliar animal yourself.
"There are so many different factors: if the dog is hurt and injured, are there puppies in the area. A mother is more likely to bite you or charge you. There’s so many factors," said Rinaldi.
Rinaldi says not only do people run the risk of being attacked but the animals could also be carrying diseases including rabies.
Experts recommend people call one of the following resources instead:
- Michigan Humane Society: 313-872-3401
- Detroit Animal Control: 313-922-3647
- Detroit Dog Rescue: 313-458-8014
- Call 911 in Emergencies
"We don’t want to see anybody get hurt and when you go on these rescues and you’re encroaching on a dog's space, you’re threatening them, you’re approaching them, horrific things like what happened yesterday can happen,"said Rinaldi. "Our thoughts our prayers go out to this person's family who was trying to do the right thing and it just went wrong."
Stay with wxyz.com for updates on this developing story.
