Heart of Detroit: Detroit Dog Rescue

DETROIT – They may be man's best friend, but there are nearly 50,000 stray dogs in Detroit, ignored, forgotten and homeless. And tragically, nearly 90 percent of the dogs picked up are euthanized.  Detroit Dog Rescue is trying to change that. 

"I had dogs my whole life growing up uh it's a passion for me right now um as everybody knows I am a rapper from Detroit and I have had my success." 

Hush Carlisle started DDR with TV producer Monica Martino, after they posted a video of a stray Detroit dog eating a puppy. 

"YouTube views went ballistic, we were at like 10,000 in like two days um and the comments that were on the page as we were watching them basically were people wanting to donate." 

DDR is raising funds for a no-kill shelter. But finding land in Detroit has been difficult – as many neighborhoods don't want a shelter nearby. Meanwhile, DDR combs the streets saving strays and matching them with willing new owners.

The horror stories of abandoned dogs is heartbreaking. Like a landlord who had to evict his tenants. 

"He went to the house to clean it up two weeks later and found a short little dog in the closet.  They had just left it there to die." 

Sometimes dogs are abandoned simply due the economy.

"If they are just between a couple of checks or whatever when it comes to feeding them I'll just give them a 40 pound bag or a couple of 40 pound bags of food if you want to keep your dog."

Helping save man's best friends, and matching good people with needy dogs, the Detroit Dog Rescue is showing the human side of the Heart of Detroit.