The Michigan Humane Society has concluded that more than a dozen animals found slaughtered last week at the Catherine Ferguson Academy's urban farm were killed by wild dogs.
Authorities were shocked to discover the mutilated remains of five goats and eight chickens Friday on the grounds of the academy on Selden near the Jeffries Freeway on the Detroit's west side.
Students at the academy, a charter high school for pregnant girls and teen mothers, provided care for the animals. A volunteer who helps students take care of the farm found the animals.
"We've been working on this ever since the dead animals were discovered last Friday," Mark Ramos, senior investigator for the humane society's cruelty investigations department, told The Detroit News. "Our veterinarian conducted necropsies and . . . determined that all the animals killed there suffered dog bites. At this point, it's hard to determine if it was one dog or multiple dogs."
Packs of wild dogs have been a problem in Detroit for years. A cable TV show that featured the city's animal control officers became a nationwide hit. Mail carriers have protested dogs that harass them on their routes.
