Friday, May 9, 2008

Gone to the dogs



At least Rottweilers can enjoy the former site of Buick City. Carina, a Flint resident and blogger who writes Doggie musing and animalosities describes a dog walk at the most profound symbol of Flint's misfortune:

"Now there's weeds growing up between old bricks and concrete slab and 1960s industrial linoleum flooring. I trespass there with the dogs sometimes...these photos were from a grey early morning walk a few weeks ago.

"A very old part of the plant still stands - must date to the 1930s. Huge blackened brick buildings. I
so want to go explore...but I have seen footprints in the snow leading over there. So, I think there is probably crack dealing and prostitution and squatting and all manner of people I probably don't want to meet while I'm by myself."


6 comments:

  1. How sad. My Uncles worked at Buick City and it pains me to know it's no longer there. Flint used to be a pretty great city, and I'm proud to be from there. It breaks my heart to know that it's so bad off.

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  2. Teresa,

    Since I started the blog, I've experienced the same feelings many times. You'd think I'd get used to it, but then I run across another image like this one. I can understand that the economy can change, but it's still hard for me to believe that the country could allow something like this to happen. But look at New Orleans...it's happening there.

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  3. Be careful Carina, feral dogs are a growing problem in Flint and elsewhere as clueless motherfuckers "put out" animals to roam the streets.

    The FPD gunned down a bunch of wild dogs after the were found EATING a human corpse on a vacant lot near Glenwood Ave. back in 1995 or so. The body was in such a state that the cause of death couldn't be determined. In addition, it seems the popo were worried the ferals might run wild during 4th of July festivities in Riverbank Park. A few years later a pack was found running amuck near Cecil Ct.

    Your dogs look big and strong but there is no way you'd want to put them in that type of situation.

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  4. Smurfs, I'm trying to eat my lunch here! Just kidding. I did an earlier post on how the humane society stopped taking in pit bulls because of overcrowding:
    http://www.flintexpats.com/2008/02/no-jobs-but-plenty-of-pit-bulls.html

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  5. Geewhy,

    Indeed. It's been almost four years since I moved to California and I miss Flint, but it saddens me that it's in such bad shape.

    As for the dogs, I remember that they were a huge problem, and if I'm remembering correctly there was a huge pack in the Hotel Durant who would chase people on the U of M Flint Campus trying to attack them.

    I love this blog and will be visiting here often. Thanks for making this, it's good to talk to fellow Flintoids.

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  6. Two of my uncles worked at Buick for 30-plus years, too, getting their start during the best of GM's years. It is really difficult to fathom what has happened since then and the impact it has had on Flint - and pictures like this one say it all.

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Thanks for commenting. I moderate comments, so it may take a while for your comment to appear. You might enjoy my book about Flint called "Teardown: Memoir of a Vanishing City," a Michigan Notable Book for 2014 and a finalist for the 33rd Annual Northern California Book Award for Creative NonFiction. Filmmaker Michael Moore described Teardown as "a brilliant chronicle of the Mad Maxization of a once-great American city." More information about Teardown is available at www.teardownbook.com.