Detroit Says No Way to Stray Dog Reality Show

Thursday, 13 January 2011 | by Pat's Picks

One segment of Detroit’s population is growing by leaps and bounds: stray dogs. But it’s a development the city isn’t proud of. According to the Detroit Free Press, the mayor’s office just shut down a request by the Discovery Channel to attach cameras to several of the stray’s collars and film them for a new reality show. A rep for the city said, despite the attractive tax credit attached to the project, it would be “bad for the public, the dogs and the city’s battered image.”

Experts estimate that the city has tens of thousands of stray dogs. The numbers have grown as the economy has tanked; animal control workers say they capture anywhere between 20 and 40 animals a day, a number that doesn’t even put a dent in the problem. The strays are especially a menace to mail carriers, who say they are forced to suspend service in some neighborhoods because the problem is so bad.