Detroit dog rescue team The Karens hit the streets in the summer heat

FOX 2 - Summer is puppy and kitten season when Detroit’s abandoned animals populate the streets. One dog rescue is working overtime to provide the city’s neglected and abused dogs some comfort.

It all starts with a photo, a text, a call. That’s all it takes to make The Karens, Chantel Rzewnicki and Melanie Thomas, spring into action.

The backstory:

The dog rescue duo with the notorious name is determined to make the lives of abused and neglected dogs better.

"Hi, my name is Chantel, we do community outreach here for the city of Detroit," Rzewnicki says, banging on the door. "Do you have a dog? you don’t have a dog?"

We’re on Detroit’s east side, responding to a neighbor’s concern about a chained-up dog.

"The dog’s right here, chained up to a generator," she said.

A second knock.

"I’m sorry to be a pest," she said.

So what’s going on, is they got permission to go into the backyard, getting water, leaving a big bag of dog food. The owner, he says it’s not his dog.

She told him if there’s any trouble to have him talk to her. The main thing is we’re just trying to have this dog hooked up."

Flies are everywhere, laying eggs and eating through this poor dog’s ears.

32:37 "see the fly strike on the tops of his ears?"

The Karens provide an ointment for the pain and clean up the mess drawing the flies.

"Like that was where he was when we saw him in that picture. This was his bedding," Rzewnicki said.

For comfort, they remove the heavy chain.

"The laws that are not enforced. The authority, does have specifics ...," said Thomas.

Lori Pinson: "They aren’t following through."

"Correct," she said.

Food, shelter and much needed water are left behind. It’s 8:30 in the morning and already 87 degrees.

Doggy kisses of gratitude, then it’s off to the next rescue.

"We just kind of pop up unexpectedly,"  Rzewnicki said.

Three dogs here.

"This is the one we did the leg surgery on,"  Rzewnicki said.

A repeat visit. The Karens find a rottweiler tangled on a chain around a tree. A hungry puppy stealing treats, living in waste.

All owned by an 18-year-old who thinks of himself as a dog rescuer.

"I like animals so sometimes if I see a dog out, I’ll keep him or let The Karens know," said Maluk.

Chantel begs him to surrender the puppy, give him a better life.

"One hundred fifty bucks," said Rzewnicki.

He won’t do it.

So they clean up the trash and vow to return. On to Southwest Detroit. A house under renovation. beer and liquor bottles suggest the remnants of a party.

A German shepherd uses a truck for shelter from the heat. His whole world restricted to the length of a chain. There is no water or food. Just a lone flower poking up through the mess.

"So I’m sure they’re working on the house and the dog is security," Thomas said.

Cars and a camper unit on site. Visible air conditioner units suggests someone is home. No one answers the knock on the door.

The dog seems friendly enough, but for safety, The Karens don’t get too close.

"I’m not getting kisses today from a shepherd," said Rzewnicki.

A proper shelter, food and water. The heat index is approaching 100 degrees.

At the next location, before we get inside, we encounter a hungry visitor

A cat comes up and the Karens feed him.

Here, the owners attempted to build a shelter, but their Huskies ate through it. No worries, The Karens are prepared.

This stop was a milestone house. House number 500. That’s 500 dogs with a roof over their head. Protection from rain, snow, the elements. Five hundred dogs - one dog at a time.

"Five-hundred, can’t believe we’ve done this many," said Rzewnicki.

"Hi, Chloe, got you a new house baby," she said.

Our last stop of the day is not a home, it’s a tent.

"My guess is probably a population of homeless people under an overpass," said Rzewnicki.

We can’t reach it by car. we park and cautiously approach.

"Hello, anybody back here?" said Rzewnicki. "Oh, I see dogs coming. Go!"

Two pit bulls run out, but thankfully, the dogs are friendly.

"Oh, you only have three legs," she said.

"This is Mimi right here, the other is Darla," said Andre. "I take care of them everyday; like I wake up for these dogs. They keep me alive because after I lost my husband, I was just lost.

Related: Dog rescue group 'The KARENS' save pets left out in the freezing weather

"I have a small support system. It’s small but it’s like there, you know i don’t like to intrude or call people all the time."

Andre lost his security job and lives there while waiting on housing. Before The Karens showed up today, he was faced with a choice.

"Just this morning, it came down to health," he said. "Because I was going to get dog food, or I was gonna get people food. I was gonna get dog food."

"These people are homeless, homeless," said Rzewnicki. "They have absolutely nothing, nowhere to even live, but yet their dogs are in the best shape of all the dogs we’ve seen today."

"It’s amazing," Thomas said. "It just shows you the quality of care. You don’t need much to take care of your animals. It’s not rocket science."

"Now when we leave, we’re gonna go to 10 other houses that are routine calls,"said Rzewnicki.

But that wasn’t the case. After we left The Karens, their routine calls turned into two dogs trying to escape a house, by jumping out a window onto a roof.

A dog chained and tangled on a tree, stuck there while his owner watched. no working water in what was described as a nightmare home for the dogs.

The Karens were able to get the owner to surrender this puppy with the sad eyes.

"This is it. This is Detroit. People don’t realize what’s in their own backyard," said Rzewnicki.

Still, The Karens hold on to their success stories, like Ethel. Skin and bones when rescued, now living her best life.

Lori Pinson: "There is hope, even though it’s a lot, and you seem to sometimes you come back to the same location and maybe things may not be as they should be, but you guys are making a huge difference.

"I feel like we made progress in time," Thomas said. "Hopefully they call, if not we show back up, drop off some more stuff and we continue on."

If you need to report an abused animal, donate or volunteer, their website is thekarens2021.com

Update: The location where The Karens tried to buy the puppy was raided. The Karens paid for surgery for one of those dogs. He was microchipped so authorities will now turn all three dogs over to The Karens.

The dogs that tried to escape a house by jumping on the roof has been removed from the house.

The dog twisted up on the tree while his owner watched, has been removed from the house.

The dog who was in a small cage, rescued by The Karens is now in a foster home sponsored by Happy Paws.

The Karens get results.