AUGUSTA TOWNSHIP, Mich. – A disturbing problem of dogs being found along roads has residents in Washtenaw County outraged.
The dogs are being dumped along roads in rural communities, some of them dead and others alive, officials said.
Augusta Township is covered in miles of wooded areas and open fields. Many residents know it as a great place to unwind with nature and escape the big city, but animal dumping has become a major problem.
Township supervisor Brian Shelby said the country environment in Augusta Township is making it a prime location for dumpers.
"They can dump animals, garbage, anything they want and nobody sees them," Shelby said.
Shelby said he finds dogs, alive and dead, along the rural roads.
"It is weekly," Shelby said. "It depends on the time of year. It can almost be daily."
Residents in a couple of communities in Sumpter Township have noticed the same problem. Dale Nolan said he's on the lookout to try to stop it.
"It makes me mad, a dog being abused like that," Nolan said. "Why would they just dump it like that?"
Nolan said he recently discovered a dog that had been killed.
"The dog had been strangled," Nolan said. "You could see the rope around its neck and the indentations around its neck."
Nolan said his daughter found more abandoned dogs.
"Two puppies and a female (were) on the side of the road," Nolan said.
He said he drives around after work, and Wednesday afternoon, he found another dead dog dumped along the side of the road.
"I was born with a conscience," Nolan said. "I don't know how people do it."
Nolan said he plans to circle the area daily to search for helpless animals, but he hopes as more people become aware of the problem, animal dumping will end.
Nolan posted on Facebook about finding the dogs, and he's gotten a big response from other residents who vow to be on the lookout. Some people are even setting up cameras to try to catch the culprits.
Officials said there's no indication that the dogs found along the road have been struck by vehicles.