Groups join to help clean up doo-doo from off-leash area
FLAGS SHOW HOW IRRESPONSIBLE SOME DOG OWNERS ARE
A group of dog enthusiasts were at Scenic Drive Dog Park on Saturday to do their “doodie” when it comes to keeping the city’s dog parks feces-free.
The Southern Alberta Group for the Environment and Helen Schuler Nature Centre put together the Doggy Doo Doo Crew to clean up dog waste in the off-leash park.
In places where poop was procured, a green flag marked the spot to act as a reminder for dog owners to pick up the poop their furry friends leave behind.
“We really want to magnify the issue,” said Curtis Goodman, resource development coordinator with the Helen Schuler Nature Centre. “And we really want to show everyone that if they think they are the only one leaving their dog scat behind, there’s actually quite a big problem. It creates an issue with the quality of our water, and the quality of our park space.”
There are almost 8,000 licensed pet dogs in Lethbridge. The Lethbridge Dog Control Bylaw requires that owners remove dog waste from public property.
A large amount is left behind, however.
Cheryl Bradley, a board member for SAGE, originally came up with the idea after visiting the park and witnessing the amount of accumulated dog waste.
“I notice poop as I walk along the trails, day after day, and it just keeps building up,” she said. “So I finally get to a level of frustration where I take a few hours out of my walk where I just scoop the poop myself. But it’s too big of a job for me.”
After four years of frustration, she decided to approach the Coulee Cleanup group which is run by the Helen Schuler Nature Centre.
“We needed to profile this to the community and remind people about the benefits of scooping the poop,” she said.
Picking up poop saves other users from stepping in it.
It also helps to reduce the risk of polluting water and of exposing park users to bacteria and parasites that can occur in dog poop —like fecal coliforms, fecal streptococcus, campylobacter, salmonella, roundworms, tapeworms and hookworms.
In terms of poop piling up, Goodman said the waste eventually makes its way down to the river.
“What we find in this particular dog park is that dog scat, and the bacteria and the parasites related to that, will make its way into the water system,” he said. “In this area, it’s right above the water treatment plant.
“It’s really problematic when we look at the types of issues that can arise.”
Those unsightly poop piles also give other people the impression that it is fine if they leave their dog’s waste as well.
“When we’re able to catch up, and get our space back to near-pristine condition, people have more respect,” he said. “I think it’s an unconscious thing that we all subscribe to.”
The City of Lethbridge maintains 203 doggie bag dispensers throughout the city and supplies approximately 600,000 doggie bags per year.
By the end of the event, the crew had picked up about 64 kilograms of dog poop.
The Doggy Doo Doo Crew reminds pet owners that there is no poop fairy and your dog’s mess is your responsibility — no matter where they do their doo doo.