Community Rallies To Find Scared, Lost Dog Last Spotted In Madison Heights

MADISON HEIGHTS (WWJ) - Dozens of people have rallied together to help find a very special pooch who went missing from a Madison Heights neighborhood more than one week ago.

China -- a 3-year-old gray and white American Pit Bull Terrier -- was last seen by animal control officials on Tuesday, Feb. 3 near the Costco on Stephenson Highway just south of 13 Mile Road, but she was scared and ran away.

Darren Kalkan, a spokesperson for the search group, said China led a pretty sad life before being rescued by local animal organization CHAINED, Inc.

"The dog was on a chain for two, two-and-a-half years with no interaction with humans, you know, fed at minimum and given water at minimum. They were lucky enough to get her surrendered so that they could treat her for her heartworm and get her acclimated to humans and possibly get a much better home," Kalkan told WWJ's Chrystal Knight.

China was actually receiving heartworm treatment at a foster home when she ran away.

"When they go through heartworm treatment, they have to be kept down pretty good and let their heart rest," said Kalkan. "After five days, she went out to go to the bathroom and got spooked and jumped the fence and ran."

For the past 10 days, dozens of volunteers have been casing the area, passing out fliers and trekking through woods -- looking for any signs of China.

"Basically, everyone is just kind of looking for places where there's repetitive paw prints anywhere there's shelter," Kalkan said. "She recognizes her name, she's much friendlier with women than men. But in this scenario, only a few weeks out of being chained for two years, she's just afraid of pretty much everyone right now."

Kalkan said three concerned citizens have reported seeing China in the area but when search crews showed up, the pooch was nowhere to be found.

"Two of them, neighbors on Mark Street and one on Cherry Street right there on 12 Mile and Stephenson, but they didn't completely know if it was her because there's a similar looking dog in the area," he said. "And then there was one spotted yesterday [Wednesday] running on 12 Mile, but we haven't been able to get ahold of the girl who left that tip."

Kalkan said the group is encouraging everyone in the community to keep an eye out for China, especially with temperatures reaching dangerous lows this weekend.

"The one identifying mark on her, besides her being dark gray with a little brown tint, the little bit of white on her has a little bit of freckles, and her left ear has a split in it -- like it was caught on something or torn," he said.

Volunteers are setting up traps in hopes they can bait China with food, but they're asking the public to call them with any possible sightings.

"She's friendly, she's just afraid. So if anybody sees her and she's skittish, calling us is probably the best bet without spooking her to get her to go anywhere," he said.

If you think you've seen China, immediately call 586-306-7926 or 313-205-1732. A $250 cash reward is being offered.

You can also follow updates on the search for China on Facebook.