Good Citizenship Begins with your Dog
South Park loves its dogs! When walking the streets of our neighborhood it is easy to imagine there are as many canine residents here as there are humans. If you are a dog owner like I am, you must recognize that good citizenship and dog ownership responsibility are all wrapped up (sorry for the pun) in the subject of ...dog poop.
Please, please, please. Always pick up after your dog. Recently, residents I have spoken with recognize a distinct decline in the demonstration of this responsibility here in South Park. Yes, conditions are getting worse.
The problem of pet excrement on the streets and sidewalks is more than an unsightly and unpleasant issue. In fact, both humans and canines can acquire certain diseases from dog poop. In humans, diseases transmitted between species are known as zoonoses. These diseases, which include roundworms, hookworms, and whipworms, are easily transmitted to humans. These gastrointestinal parasites cause signs of illness common to most parasitic infections: vomiting, diarrhea, weight loss, anorexia, anemia and lethargy. Other rather nasty critters include salmonella, E. coli, and campylobacter. Our growing carelessness is making our sidewalks increasingly a health threat. Think of this when your dog jumps into your lap or snuggles up under the covers after that long constitutional: What has been picked up off the street? And what about the stuff you bring into your home on the soles of your shoes? Obviously, it is important that we pay attention to this issue!
Human and dog health is not the only reason unattended droppings are harmful. Feces in the water supply contribute nutrients that lead to overgrowth of harmful algae and weeds, killing fish and wildlife. The Environmental Protection Agency lists dog poop as number three on its list of environmental contaminants. Millions and millions of dogs equal a big problem! Many people assume they can leave their dog’s waste where it lies because it just disappears into the dirt and is a great fertilizer. This is the farthest from the truth. Dog poop is not fertilizer. It is highly acidic and causes root death. The content of every dropping left on the sidewalk or in planting beds eventually washes into the gutters and directly out to Santa Monica Bay, causing untold damage. Please do not assume that a deposit in one of our many sidewalk planter areas is helping things grow. It does not.
SPNA has been working with the South Park/Social District BID to recognize and attack this problem. Nolan Marshall, Chairman of the South Park/Social District BID, has labeled unattended dog poop as a top issue in the management of the district and is in the process of installing and maintaining dog bag dispensers on all local trash cans. These dispensers are starting to appear now throughout the neighborhood. You now have no excuse (“Oh well, I don’t have a bag”). Please don’t shirk your duty to the community and to yourself. Have - or find - a poop bag...and use it.
By: John Nilsson