Why you should pick up your dog's poop
No one likes to step on poop.
Nope, your dog's poop is not fertilizer to grass or plants. And no, your dog's poop doesn't disappear into the rain or drain, as you walk away.
By picking it up is doing your little part for the environment and your neighbours will thank you for it. If you have got glares from some neighbours while walking your dogs, that is probably because of the dog poop they have been encountering.
In some parts of the world, beaches are closed due to high levels of Fecal Coliform. It comes from animal poop and is harmful to humans. This goes to show poop doesn't disappear.
Bringing up a good canine citizen is a big responsibility but picking up dog poop is easy.
(Information and the fun graphic below are courtesy of Earthrated.com)
While picking up is the polite thing to do, there are many other reasons why we should all do it:
- Dog poop isn’t good for grass or plants as a fertilizer like other animal waste, because it’s too acidic and actually damages grass.
- Dog poop can contain dangerous bacteria and parasites like Salmonella, Coccidia, Roundworms, Tapeworms, Parvo, Giardia and E. coli, which can make people and other dogs very sick.
- The Environmental Protection Agency (USA) classifies dog poop as a pollutant in the same category as oil spills.
- While there’s a lot of waste from animals that occurs naturally in our environment and cities (like bird poop, deer poop and squirrel poop), our ecosystem isn’t ready for the added amount of waste generated by the millions of domestic dogs we share our lives with.
See the infographic below published last year by Earthrated.com, about the importance of picking up after our dogs. Feel free to share it with anyone who might need a fun reminder!
