‘Dog House’ Down, $50,000 Cleanup Bill Still Unpaid
With the demolition and cleanup of the Orchard Street bungalow where hundreds of Chihuahuas were found this summer expected to be completed by Monday, April 19, Dearborn officials will now turn their attention to finding a way to collect the nearly $50,000 in costs for the work.
Prior to the demolition of the home and the garage on Thursday, crews had to remove some small amounts of asbestos and spray the home with insecticide because many neighbors were worried what might come out of the home once it started to come down.
Cleanup costs and the removal of the hundreds of dogs cost the city more than $40,000, not including the $8,000 and change in demolition costs. It is not clear how the city will ever collect those costs from Kenneth Lang Jr., 56. Lang is currently serving a five-year probation for the hoarding of the dogs. As part of the restitution listed for Mr. Lang following his criminal case, he was ordered to pay the city for the cost of the cleanup.
A city spokeswoman says there is a lien on the property for the cost of the demolition so if the family tries to sell the property the city would need to be paid first.
Given Lang’s financial situation, it is unknown how he would be able to pay, the spokeswoman says.
April 17th, 2010 at 8:21 am
It looks like the city will have to hope they try to sell the property in order to get their money back. Who does the lot actually belong to, Mr. Lang or his father ?
April 19th, 2010 at 11:55 am
Ask NObama, he seems to have all kinds of money. Just open your hand and he will give it you.
April 22nd, 2010 at 5:28 am
Does the Press and Guide not have anything better to report? How about doing an article about all the unhealthy dogs that live in this town? The city has 43 parks and not a single park allows residents to walk their dogs on leash. The city does not care about the health and welfare of the animals in this town. Dearborn is not a dog friendly town and the Dearborn Animal Shelter is a joke. If the shelter truly cared about the animals in this town, they would support residents that want to keep their dogs healthy! All the shelter cares about is kissing the city’s butt so they can continue to line their pockets.
April 26th, 2010 at 6:30 pm
Dearborn Animal Shelter is a joke? They don’t truly care about animals in this town? If you’ve ever been to the shelter and talked to any of the staff, then you would know that the animals are ALL they care about! What the city provides only covers a small portion of the shelter’s operating costs, other than that they are totally dependent on fundraisers and donations–donations made by Dearborn residents, who obviously do not think it is a joke. I agree with you that Dearborn is not a very dog friendly town, but that is not the shelter’s fault. They don’t make the laws in the city. Place the blame where it belongs.
April 28th, 2010 at 10:01 am
It is a concern that the shelter has lost a few wonderful and very generous volunteers and donors recently—as well as having to deal with the current rodent infestation that caused temporary closure of the shelter.