Dog Poo in the Parks

It has been said that dog’s are man’s best friends. Actually that is not so, To many, a cat is man’s best friend, to others, birds are man’s best friends. However, this article is going to be about dogs. In actual fact, it is going to be about dog shit. To narrow it down further, it is going to be about dog shit in public parks.

Prior to adopting a dog, most people don't give much thought to the task of poop cleanup. Once the dog has joined the family and the need becomes apparent, some people tend to avoid cleaning up. This can lead to problems.

Dog waste contaminates the ground and becomes a means of passing intestinal parasites and infections to dogs and people. Your own dog can be repeatedly re-infested by parasites in this way. Picking up the feces prevents a great deal of the contamination, especially if diarrhea is not involved. Cleanup can reduce veterinary expenses and might even save on human doctor bills.

Because of contamination as well as smell and mess, dog waste is highly offensive to many people in the community. It often becomes a reason to ban dogs from areas. Of course the dogs can't clean up after themselves, so this is a people problem rather than a dog problem. It's easy to enact "no dogs allowed" rules, and then the people who clean up suffer right along with the ones who don't.

I don’t blame the dogs. They are doing what is natural to them. I do however blame the owners of dogs who walk through our parks with their dogs without pooper scoopers and a plastic bag to clean up after their dogs. These scum-like people obviously don’t care about others; they only care about themselves and their dogs.

I remember when one could lay on the grass of a public park and enjoy the heat from the sun. More often than not, nowadays, if you lay on the grass of a public park, you will end up lying on dried dog shit. And if it is a windy day, your eyes will smart as remnants of dried dog shit flies into your eyes in the form of dust.

I would like to see a ban on dogs being brought into public parks. Obviously parks are created for the enjoyment of human beings, not for animals such as dogs. If these people want to walk their dogs, then walk them on the streets. If these people want to enjoy a day in the park, leave the dogs behind.

Toronto has several dog parks where dogs are permitted to run free. Unfortunately, it is turning out to be a failure. In one of the parks (Humber Gate Park) a sign was posted asking the dog owners to carry out their dog’s waste from the park. The sign was pulled out and covered with dog shit. Installing a giant septic tank under several parks didn’t work. The idea of using dung beetles didn’t work either.

After a year in which 2,500 tonnes of dog shit fouled garbage cans in the city parks, Toronto officials are still at a loss as to how to deal with this problem. Some officials have suggested that the dog owners flush the dog shit down their own toilets. Imagine if you will, a dog owner opening a plastic bag over the toilet and then squeezing the contents out of the bag into the bowl of the toilet. After flushing the toilet, the owner still has to dispose of the bag that still has dog shit in it. Where will the bag be placed then without it smelling up the house or apartment? Now you know why our family doesn’t have a dog for a pet. Cats go directly to the spot where the kitty litter is placed.

In England in some of the cities, they have special red bins on their streets that are used only for depositing dog shit in them. In one district, they have as many as 250 red bins on the streets. The trouble is that many people are carrying their dog’s shit from their homes and dumping them in the red bins. As a result, extra runs have to be undertaken to empty the bins.

Pooper Scoopers are a must for dog owners. If bending is difficult for you, a long-handled scooper tool may be your better choice. Some of these are designed to work with disposable bags. There are quite a few different tools designed for picking up poop. Unfortunately, they aren’t much use if the dog’s shit is of the running type.

I think the solution for this problem is to place red bins in the parks and on our streets. Anyone wishing to bring a dog into a park or walk a dog on a street must have a pooper scooper and a plastic bag with them. If they are found on the street or in a city park with their dog without a pooper scooper and a plastic bag, they should be charged. If they refuse to show identification, then their dog should be seized and only released when they bring some ID with them that shows where they live.

This is strict, I agree but at least once it is in effect, there will be less risk of us stepping into dog shit when we go out for a stroll or our children accidentally rolling in it when they are playing in the park.