Clean Up After Your Dog: It’s The Green Thing To Do

Did you hear the one about spray painting dog poo? No? Well, in England by a school there’s been a problem where people have walked their dogs and neglected to clean up after them. It’s become a problem and to drive the point home that this is messy, gross, and unpleasant, workers painted the poo green. This was to remind owners that it’s unsanitary and show the scale of the problem which was about 200 piles of feces around the school. Imagine walking down that block!

While stepping in dog waste is not the most horrible thing in the world, it’s definitely a downer and irritating. Many states have laws about picking up after your dog and fines if you are caught leaving it on the ground. A simple ordinance typically states that you must clean up after your dog if waste has been left on any property other than your own yard. If you don’t, the fines can range from $20 to $100.

Sometimes we can’t pick up after our dog because we didn’t bring a bag or used the one we brought and other times it’s almost impossible to pick up, especially if your dog has an upset belly. While this is understandable, it’s up to us to do what we can to try and keep our streets clean.

Waste on the streets attracts bugs and is a form of pollution. It is also a way that parasites spread from one dog to another or in some cases to people. Having some waste stuck to our shoes means we could accidentally track it into our homes, into our car, and other places. Stepping in dog waste is not considered a form of good luck like bird droppings, trust me. It’s more of a “@#$!!” sort of thing.

If you are taking your dog on a walk, try to remember the following tips:

1: Take extra bags with you.

2: If it’s a long walk or a trip to the dog park, bring some water for your dog.

3: Not cleaning up spoils walks for you and other dog owners.

4: Try to curb your dog from going on plants and neighbor’s lawns. Urine and feces can kill and ruin landscaping.

5: Not cleaning up can lead to spreading disease and parasites. No one wants to see worms coming out of their dogs.