Be A Good Neighbor And Pick Up

by Barry KuKes

The 11th Annual Mutt Strutt recently took place on October 2nd at the Daytona Beach bandshell. It is the only day of the year that people can bring their dogs onto the World’s Most Famous Beach. Over four hundred dogs enjoyed the beach and ocean, in some cases for the very first time.

I was very impressed that nearly every person picked up after their dog if it had pooped on the beach. We had a poop patrol squad of volunteers who scoured the beach to ensure all doggie deposits were picked up and found only one lone pile left behind. So, the question is, how can six hundred people pick up after four hundred dogs on a beach, yet some of the people in my subdivision can’t be bothered to pick up after their one dog? Maybe it’s because we gave everyone at the event poop bags before they hit the beach.

I wonder if placing a poop bag dispenser every 4-6 blocks might reduce the amount of poop left behind. I’m sure many people leave the house with their dog to take a nice walk, and the dog, who just did his business in the backyard before going on the walk, is now doing it again on the neighbor’s lawn three blocks over. The owner unintentionally left the house without a poop bag, and now they are stuck. Having a poop bag dispenser might be a great solution. The dispenser wouldn’t have a trash can for the picked-up poop, just the empty bags. I might contact my HOA to see if they would be open to this idea.

Let’s say my HOA, or yours or your neighbor, doesn’t like the idea of an in- ground bag dispenser. Now what? Most people who walk their dog regularly have a poop bag dispenser attached to the dog’s leash. This way, they always have a bag just in case the dog needs to go.

There are so many options for poop bags. The rolls of the smaller bags are very inexpensive and available at all pet stores and animal shelters. Or using grocery bags from retailers like Walmart are free and work fine as well. Really, there is no good reason not to pick up after your dog, so be a good neighbor and do your part to keep your community free of animal waste on your neighbor’s lawn, in public areas, and on your property. People up north tend to leave the dog waste in their yard once it is covered by snow. It isn’t easy to find the deposits once the snow flies. This practice, of course, leads to the Annual Spring Poop Clean Up that can take several hours. Not a day that most northerners look forward to experiencing. Here in Florida, we can pick up as it happens, so let’s all try to do that.

As always, please adopt, don’t shop.
Barry KuKes is the Community Out- reach Director for the Halifax Humane Society. You can reach Barry at 386. 274.4703, ext. 320, or BarryK@halifax humanesociety.org