Pick up dog poop for the sake of everyone’s health

Pick up dog poop for the sake of everyone’s health


It’s time to talk dog feces. Are you picking up after your pooch?

We’ve all encountered that ugly moment when you step in it. It might be the local park or your own lawn. It isn’t the dog’s fault. Remember, there are no bad dogs. They’re just doing their thing. It’s the owner’s fault.

Some, it seems, just won’t grab a plastic baggie to clean up after their pet.

All that dog poop isn’t simply an aesthetic problem. An Australian researcher writing in the online science-news publication The Conversation argues we should have a strong health motivation for picking up.

For one thing, canine feces contain bacteria and might pack salmonella, E. coli and other harmful microbes. And some of those nasty pests might be antibiotic-resistant, which can prove fatal to an infected person.

One study also indicates that dog poop is washed into stormwater, adding to the weight of water pollution threatening humans.

Dogs can become ill, too, perhaps more so than humans given their propensity to get up close and personal with another pal’s “present.”

One study says poop is much more commonly found in dog parks where pooches run free. That makes sense. What seems less sensible is that it is also commonly deposited at the edges of parking lots.

Some factors that deter dog owners from cleaning up the scene of the crime are a lack of rubbish bins, a path’s location or visibility. In other words, if no one else is looking, some simply walk away.

The article suggests educating dog owners is key.

So, congrats to those who do the right thing and can proudly say, “It’s in the bag.”

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