Realtor loses job after calling police to help dog abandoned in vacant home

LINCOLN PARK, Mich. — A Michigan real estate agent said she lost her job after she called police to help an abandoned dog she found trapped in the basement of a home that she was showing to a client.

Alison Reedy told WXYZ in Detroit that she found the Chihuahua caged in the basement of a Lincoln Park home, surrounded by its own waste. The home was listed as vacant.

Reedy told the news station that she first called the listing agent for the home, who told her that the home’s owner had to move into an apartment and could not take the dog.

"It was appalling," Reedy said in an interview. "The lack of compassion in the situation, it really just pulled at my heart."

Once she realized that the dog had been abandoned, Reedy called police. The Lincoln Park Police Department responded and turned the dog over to animal control officers.

Reedy, who said she has been a Realtor for six years, told the news station that she lost her job after the incident because she failed to call her boss before she called police. She said she also violated an ethics policy at her company for sharing the situation on social media.

She said she has no regrets.

"I don't care, I really don't. I have a better opportunity," Reedy told WXYZ.

The station said the homeowner could face charges for abandoning the dog.

Cox Media Group