Dog owner jailed, pets left in house without food or water for days

DETROIT (FOX 2) - Detroiter Tim Brown admits he has had to protect himself against one of the four dogs who lives across the street on Oakfield.

But once he learned their owner had been hauled off to jail, he felt something needed to be done to help them.

FOX 2: "The dogs attacked you yet you are trying to make sure they are okay?"

"It's not the dog's fault," Brown said. "My number one concern dogs in the house haven't been fed or haven't been let out."

Neighbors say they haven't seen the homeowner in maybe a couple of weeks and were told the reason was he was behind bars. FOX 2 did some checking and sure enough records show Xavier Ruffin was arrested March 25th for drug possession and fleeing police. He's been locked up ever since.

"I feel pretty bad for the dogs, I am hoping someone can do something for them," Malik Austin said.

It's believed the four large dogs have been trapped in the house without food and water for at least a week. We put out the call to Detroit Dog Rescue. As always, they answered.

"We are going to do everything we can to get these dogs out of the house," said Kristina Rinaldi, DDR director.

Rinaldi from DDR, says the law prevents them from breaking into the house to retrieve the dogs unless there is an obvious emergency. She is now working with Detroit Animal Care and Control to legally get those dogs out of there.

"I have talked to them to get a warrant to get these guys out in the morning," she said. "I have put signs on the door, tape on the door, so we can see if anyone is coming or going. Then hopefully they will call me, my information is on the door. But in situations like this, we can't break into the house."

Brown is just happy to finally get some help because he can't help but fear the desperate dogs could break through the weak windows and put other lives in danger as well.

"I don't know how long it is going to be for those dogs," Brown said. "Maybe someone will see this and say I have key to the house and get in, give them food and water or send them to a shelter."

Rinaldi said her group plans to take action and remove the dogs in the next 12 to 24 hours and get them the proper care they need.