Detroit Free Press (MI) June 15, 2000 LEASH ON LIFE PONTIAC GROUP HELPS NEGLECTED PETS, SAYS CITY CAN PROFIT FROM LICENSE LAWS Author: KIM NORTH SHINE FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER It looked bad from the street as the volunteers pulled up in their white panel truck Saturday to check on a mother dog and six puppies born a week earlier on a pile of dirt and feces in a Pontiac backyard. The beagles' faces were pressed against the grate of a homemade 2-by-3-foot crate, struggling for air. There was no water and no food. The runt was covered in flies. "We think they were left there to die. All we could do was throw in a little water," said Marie Skladd, president of the Animal Care Network, which made 20 stops Saturday to help neglected pets in Pontiac. The nonprofit group of volunteers has visited forgotten animals in backyards nearly every Saturday for 10 years, going out in three teams of four volunteers, mostly in Pontiac and Inkster. Now they want the city to start working with them to help more animals and the people who can't afford to care for their pets. In their time tooling the streets, the volunteers have documented the number of animals needing vaccinations and sterilizations, and the ones that received them for free from veterinarians and through donations. They've left behind thousands of fresh meals and bowls of water, dog houses, leashes, collars and treats on their visits. They've recorded the number of abused, dead, starving and wild dogs that run in packs. They also estimate 13,300 dogs are unlicensed, Skladd said. It's in the number of animals that don't have licenses that they hope city officials will see a reason to work with them, much like the City of Taylor has with the Taylor Animal Group. At tonight's Pontiac City Council meeting, the volunteers and some Pontiac residents plan to propose a partnership they say could bring more money into city coffers and potentially end the suffering of some animals. "You either are or you aren't an animal lover. But that doesn't matter. We're going to focus on the facts and figures," Skladd said. By her count -- 40 animals visited per street each week multiplied by the number of residential streets -- Pontiac is losing at least $200,000 in revenue this year on dogs that aren't licensed. A license costs $15 per year. With state health officials warning of a rise in rabies in animals, there's more reason to make sure dogs are licensed, Skladd said. By law, animals must be licensed and they must be provided with food and shelter, but the volunteers say that the Pontiac Animal Control can't get to all the households reported to them. "If we don't do it, a lot of times the poor animal dies. And nothing ever happens," Skladd said. Calls to Animal Control Director Tom Farrell were referred to Steve Manning, director of building and safety. He was on vacation. Pontiac Mayor Walter Moore did not respond to requests for comment. If the licensing laws were enforced, the money collected could be used to hire another animal control officer, and pay for vaccination and spay and neuter clinics, Skladd said. Pontiac currently has one full-time animal control officer. Volunteers could find the people who need the service the most and look for homes for unwanted pets instead of having them destroyed, she said.