It’s An Eye Sore, and It’s a Hazardous Pollutant

Other than being an eyesore, I was motivated to write when I found out that pet waste is a serious pollutant

Courtesy of Wikimedia. Commons

“Hey, why do I need to pick up my dog’s poop? Someone else can do it. After all, no one saw my dog poop, so why should I pick it up? Besides, I forgot to bring a bag.”

If you reside in a major city in the US, you’ve undoubtedly noticed the amount of poop on sidewalks has zoomed in recent years. Stroll along just about any park, sidewalk, or trail, and you’ll surely see — or worse, step in — a pile of dog doo doo.

Some dog owners let their pup poop on sidewalks as if that were perfectly normal. It’s undoubtedly disgusting and unsanitary. It’s bad enough to track dirt back into your home, but that?!

Me: With a powerful sense of foreboding whispering that I’m on a train about to run off the track, I say, Excuse me, are you aware that people walk here?

Dog parent: The person on the other end of the leash stares at me with a look that says, Mind your own business (Typical).

The air between us feels charged like a thunderstorm on the horizon. Then, the person on the other end of the leash turns his back to me, pretending to make a call, dragging the protesting pooch and leaving the offending mound behind.

Me: I try to clear my mind of the doubts of what I’m about to do. I should turn around and mind my own business for a moment. After all, no matter how much I want, I can’t make myself to rescue the world. Instead, I take a deep breath and think of the best place to begin. Should I include the ugly details of the smelly mound or just the overview? I decided to abbreviate. I get into the offender’s face. Um, excuse me, but I think you left something behind.

Dog parent: rubs his forehead with his fingers. I anticipate a rebuttal. Then he smiles with a sorrowful look — I can’t tell if he’s genuine — and says: You’re right, but I forgot to bring a bag.

Me: I reach into my shopping bag, empty the plastic bag with the apples, and hand it to him.

Dog parent: looking guilty, picks up the shit and walks away.

Don’t these owners not know the meaning of Curb Your Dog?

Exemplified in the concept of life is the possibility of knowledge, of being able to observe. As an astute person of human behavior, I study the different types of offenders:

The Ignorer — the ignorer is the owner who stands on the corner, chattering on their cell phone, pretending like they don’t notice their dog leaving a massive pile on the sidewalk. I see you and know what you’re up to.

The Concealer is one of my personal favorites. This dog owner sees the poop in progress and then attempts to conceal the evidence in the foliage. “Hey, you! Tilt your lazy self over and pick up after your dog.”

And then there’s The Panicked Faker. This one deserves an Oscar. This one toddles along whistling, looking blissful to be out and about with their favorite fuzzy friend, and then, OYE! PANIC!! Fidel Castro pooped, and Dog Person goes through an over-the-top-pantomime of pocket-slapping and frowning before sheepishly slinking away from the felonious evidence.

Problem is that even if dog owners pick up the solids off the sidewalks, the liquid byproducts are left puddled all over the sidewalks and then morph into stained and smelly shmears. This means pedestrians have to dance around or jump over it unless they’re on crutches or walk with the aid of a walker. Then you have no choice but shmearing some of the brown stuff on your apparatuses.

Pet waste is ugly, especially in spring, as the snow melts. All garbage is a problem, but dog waste is one area of particular concern, turning your daily commute into an obstacle course, an urban eyesore created by inconsiderate dog owners.

Maybe I should place flags on each pile of poop with a message like, “Don’t shit where you eat,” in hopes of shaming dog owners, whose faces are often glued to their cell phones. Or they ostensibly ignore it for lack of ambition to pick up the smelly poop to leave for others to step into.

Norbert Elias, a German sociologist, maintained that the defecating dogs were a sign of an uncivilized, backward society. And of a total lack of restraint. For many others, “dog fouling” is an outward symbol of poor governance and urban disorder.

Either way, it’s a shitty affair.

Is there finally an end in sight? Maybe. If they know the health and environmental consequences, crusading politicians should take it seriously enough to raise the stakes. New Yorkers who fail to pick up their dog’s feces can be fined $250. But the rule is rarely enforced.

Pet waste is not a natural compost but a serious pollutant

Other than being an eye sore, I was motivated to write when I found out that pet waste is a serious pollutant, not only adding dangerous bacteria to waterways but also decreasing available oxygen and creating dangerous algae blooms, killing fish and, ironically, sometimes dogs.

Here’s what you need to know and what the science says about picking up after your dogs. Dog poo is linked to illness, pollution and antibiotic resistance. Dog feces may contain microorganisms that cause disease in humans, such as Salmonella, E. coli, Giardia, and internal parasites.

Dog poop is not a fertilizer, as many would believe. Whether left on sidewalks, on rural roads, or in parks, pet waste can transport toxic bacteria, viruses, or parasites. It can make people, especially children, very ill. It can also be hazardous to wildlife and other dogs.

Rodents are very attracted to pet waste in your yard or the streets.

Pet waste left on the ground washes away by rain and snow melt runoff and carries it to nearby storm drains, reaching lakes, rivers, and streams.

This is true even if you don’t live or take your dog to places on or near the water. When it rains, or winter snow melts, much of the waste left in yards and along trails and roads gets washed with rainwater into the drains along the side of the road. The rainwater is not cleaned, filtered, or treated before flowing into our streams and rivers.

So, in addition to being a mindful human, remember that your dog’s waste — when left behind — is harmful to the environment.

I thank you for taking the time to read this important message.