Detroit Dog Rescue offers free dog houses as temperatures drop

(WJBK) - A mail mix-up leads to a Detroit animal rescue group and trucking company to team up.

The folks with Detroit Dog Rescue Friday were pleasantly surprised after a very random phone call leading to some new state of the art dog houses.

"They called us and said we have a shipment that was refused," said Kristina Rinaldi, Detroit Dog Rescue. "We said ok, what's the shipment, thinking it was dog food. They said we have 30 dog igloos. We said great, we'll take it. They called back and said we have 90 more."

The trucking company is Central Transport which stumbled upon a couple of shipments.

"Occasionally in the trucking industry you come across shipments that are refused or denied," said Stacey Kehr, of Central Transport.

Rather than sell the dog houses and recoup their losses, they thought why not help out some dogs and their owners? Central Trucking delivered a total of 120 dog houses and igloos to the rescue.

"It's a lot of them, I am not sure how that happened but we were fortunate to come across a lot of dog houses," Kehr said.

The winter dog homes costing between $120 to $170 a piece adding up to thousands of dollars of supplies which are ready to be donated to Detroit dog owners in need.

"We are excited to start outreach," Rinaldi said. "There is a lot of dogs chained up with no or shelter that isn't sufficient."

So who qualifies for one of these free dog houses? Rinaldi says low-income Detroiters who are willing to spay or neuter their dogs.

The folks with Detroit Dog Rescue also offering information on vaccinations... and education for dog owners -- as the temperatures begin to drop.

While urging dog owners who qualify to reach out for help, the rescue is also asking you to do the same.

"If you're seeing abuse, if you are seeing neglect, call us," Rinaldi said.

For people who believe they qualify for DDR free dog houses:

Detroit Dog Rescue: (313) 458-8014 or go to https://detroitdogrescue.com/