Doggy Dundee

Scoop Dog Poop – A Health and Responsibility Issue

G’day, Mates!

One responsibility of being a good dog owner is scooping up your dog’s poop. We all have been aggravated by the sight of bad dog owners leaving their droppings around – or, worse yet, stepping in a pile of dog poop. Uuuugggggghhhhh! Seattle, Washington contracted for this Dog Doogity dog poop musical video promoting scoop poop. Get down…and pick up!

Poop Bacteria: Human and Dog Health Issue

Scoopin’ poop isn’t just for convenience; It’s a health issue too, for both dogs and humans! According to the U.S. Center for Disease Control (CDC), bacteria in dog droppings contribute to diseases. Dog poop can contain eggs of tapeworms, hookworm, roundworms, giardia, and others which can remain in the soil for years-Meaning that dogs and humans who come in contact with these in the soil may become ill (sports, picnicking, etc.). In 1991, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), listed pet waste as a “nonpoint source of pollution”-thus placing it in the same category as oil and toxic chemicals. Even parks designated specifically for dog park play are abused by bad dog owners who leave their pooch’s piles of “nonpoint pollution sources” lying around when dog parks actually provide pooper scoopers and/or bags for scooping poop.  

Look! Up in the Sky

Poop bacteria, and other types, go airborne, too, which surprised researchers (Yes, people get paid to find these things!). Quoting from a study published in the July 29, 2011 Applied and Environmental Biology, the August 19, 2011 edition of the Detroit Free Press reported a story picked up by numerous papers nationwide, that the first four cities studied for airborne bacteria had bacteria from dog feces concentrated in the winter sky- above Detroit, followed by Cleveland, much less in Chicago, and very little in Mayville, Wisconsin. (Apparently, it’s there all the time, but in winter when the soil, dirt, and leaves are gone or snow covered, feces bacteria is more prominent). Too much information for ya?

It All Adds Up

Let’s see now, an approximate calculation of Chase’s poops tallies at 365 days per year x 3 poops per day x 7 years = 7665 poop piles! Yikes! Now multiply that by, let’s say, 3000 dogs in a small town and it’s obvious what not picking up dog poop can lead to!

A 1993 U.S. EPA report (as noted in Pollution Prevention Fact Sheet: Animal Waste Collection) stated that in watershed areas, “…two to three days of droppings from a population of about 100 dogs would contribute enough bacteria and nutrients to temporarily close a bay to swimming and shellfishing.” Also that, “Bacterial source tracking studies in a watershed in the Seattle, Washington area also found that nearly 20% of the bacteria isolates that could be matched with host animals were matched with dogs.” Sigh…

However, anyone can make a mistake, so be kind. And, even when Doggy Dundee spots a bad dog owner simply trying to ignore their pet’s poop, I cheerily offer them a bag to use. Friendliness and education are the best approaches, though I realize it’s tempting with the rude “Leave me alone” bad dog owners to want to snap pictures of the offenders and post their photos on  a “This Person Doesn’t Pick Up His/Her Dog’s Poop” kiosk somewhere. But, be a good doggy!