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Stinky Trails
updated: Oct 19, 2012, 11:55 AM

By Edhat Subscriber

Okay all you dog walkers on the SB trails, why is it no one picks up their dog poop bags? They use them but don't take them when done hiking. Yesterday I was on Jesusita trail and there were 11 dog poop bags on the trail come on be responsible for your dog!

Comments in order of when they were received | (reverse order)

COMMENT 333268	2012-10-19 12:09 PM
Poop it out, pack it out! I hiked Mt Whitney a couple years ago and had to take a poo half way down after summitting (in the bags they supply you), and put it in my backpack and carried it down to the bottom. That was disgusting, but it's called doing your part!
COMMENT 333269P	2012-10-19 12:11 PM
We, too, pack it out. I've actually carried poop (in the bag, of course) in my car because there wasn't a trash can available.
COMMENT 333277P	2012-10-19 12:21 PM
Seems like some people place the bag where "it" fell, and then pick it up on their way back. Maybe sometimes they forget it's there, or I just see it before they've returned? Anyway, I'm glad so many dog owners ARE responsible and pick up after their pets and even carry bags to collect trash. Thank you for keeping our parks and trails clean!
COMMENT 333278	2012-10-19 12:22 PM
I know people say that instead of carrying it around the whole way, they leave it & pick it back up on the way back. I'm sorry, people say that all the time, but I think it's an excuse to "forget" for half the people who do it (the bike path around Patterson had bags that sat for days, so I know they were left behind frequently). And maybe the other half actually do, but you need to realize that a million people pass that crap & think badly of dog owners. Pick up it when you dog poops, and throw it out - I don't care if you have to carry it for an hour, you chose to have a dog, try to be responsible & not make dog owners look any worse than some people already view them. Dogs can get a pretty bad rap from the handful of really awful owners, they don't need any help from the good owners, too. If you care enough to pick up it, just carry the darn bag. Leaving bagged poop behind is far more gross than just letting the poop be.
COMMENT 333283	2012-10-19 12:29 PM
better to just let them poop and not bag it than to "forget" to pick up the bag on your way back. It take several yrs for the bag to disintegrate! The poop will decompose in a matter of days
COMMENT 333284	2012-10-19 12:29 PM
I don't think it's fair to assume that only dogs are using them and leaving them behind. Those little baggies are awfully convenient.
COMMENT 333290P	2012-10-19 12:46 PM
sorry, when the phrase "no one" is used to complain about anything, it takes away credibility. As someone who picks up and throws away poop every day, I can attest to the falseness of that premise.
COMMENT 333295	2012-10-19 01:01 PM
whyyyy.....the DS fairy follows them around sprinkling pixie dust on the bag dissolving it. i know, its irritating running across those lil green bags.
COMMENT 333296	2012-10-19 01:02 PM
I actually had someone asking me why I cleaned up after my pet. The person claimed that it was good fertilizer and I should leave it where it lands. Some people are strange. I once saw that someone had taken all the bags provided from the container and dumped them in the trash, what a waste.
COMMENT 333298	2012-10-19 01:03 PM
NOT ONLY ON TRAILS! I am disgusted during my morning walks up olive and around the mission! People are so lazy! If you own a animal and it poops unless on YOUR property, PICK IT UP! So disgusting i feel bad for kids who walk to school it is very hard unless staring at the ground to miss stepping right in it! UGHHHHHHHHH
COMMENT 333305	2012-10-19 01:16 PM
As long as the poop isnt too close to a stream, leave it. The plastic is FAR FAR worse for the environment than any animal waste is. If there is running water close by, use the plastic to pick the poop up, dig a fist size hole on the high side of the trail, plop it in and cover with dirt and a rock. Take the dirty bag down the trial and let nature do what nature does.
COMMENT 333307	2012-10-19 01:18 PM
I have a friend who is a park ranger. You all should ask him about this. What a bunch of horse@#$%@ that is: "I will pick it up later" You should be cited when you set it down.
COMMENT 333314	2012-10-19 01:31 PM
same thing on the bike path.... there are dozens of blue poopie bags tossed in the bushes. I sometimes think that people do the "right thing" when others are watching, but the second nobody can see, they just throw it off to the side... tsk tsk tsk... I'd rather see a big dog turd than the blue bag on the ground, how long before those bags decompose??
COMMENT 333315	2012-10-19 01:33 PM
Why? Because most dog owners are too self absorbed to bother to think of other trail users. We've become a nation of Ayn Randers who are all about individualism railing against the evils of any social construct or societal responsibilities.
COMMENT 333320	2012-10-19 01:37 PM
What if, instead of plastic bags, they just offered cardboard (or some other cheap material) scoops? That way, people would be forced to do something with the scooped (instead of bagged) poop. I doubt people would leave a scoop with a turd laying in it on the side of the road. I think "bagging it" enables people to just wrap up the doo and leave it, thinking they have already done enough. Scooping takes the process only half way - that is, once you scoop then you still have to put it somewhere. Just a thought.
COMMENT 333324	2012-10-19 01:43 PM
This town is horrible. Lazy and rude. Once at a park, two kids were walking their dog. The boy didn't pick up the poop and his sister said something to him. His reply was that the poo fertilized the ground. I informed him that that actually wasn't true and if he noticed we were up hill from the ocean. When it rains that poo goes into our oceans. He was shocked!!
COMMENT 333333	2012-10-19 01:59 PM
Previous poster nailed it. I recently complained about having to clean up after someone elses "event" and all I got was a bunch of attitude. People in SB seem to think there are people to pick up after them all the time, and it didn't use to be like that here. Just another micro-example of what SB is turning into. When the rains come, the same people will be whining about high bacteria counts at the beaches, and blaming everyone but themselves.
COMMENT 333339	2012-10-19 02:04 PM
Same goes for you Horse owners. Pick up after your horse.
COMMENT 333340	2012-10-19 02:04 PM
even better when people walk their dogs along state street and have them pee all over the place - including the benches the bums sit on
COMMENT 333341	2012-10-19 02:06 PM
314, 320 - The bags provided in my area are totally biodegradable. You should find out if you can get the same where you are.
COMMENT 333342	2012-10-19 02:08 PM
I'm always amazed at how these discussions turn so negative. This town is horrible lazy and rude? If the dog owners are lazy then why are they wasting their time putting the poop in bags? I still believe that most pet owners are trying to do the right thing for the community as well as their pets.
COMMENT 333349	2012-10-19 02:26 PM
How about all the cigarette butts, can tops, plastic bags from food, bottles, etc. left by people everywhere? I pick up after my dog and am tired of dog complaints. Pick it up if it bothers you!
COMMENT 333358	2012-10-19 02:45 PM
I once had some crazy old guy yell at me for leaving a poo bag to pick up later at the Wilcox Property. Fortunately, I know where he lives (just a few doors up from the park entrance), so on the way out I threw the bag onto his roof.
COMMENT 333359	2012-10-19 02:51 PM
I agree -349!! There are a lot of responsible dog owners in this town, but as with everything, a few bad apples...... I am one of the ones that sometimes leaves my bags at the bottom of a trail to pick back up on the way down (often picking up others' bags with it), so don't put us all in the same category! Not everyone is always going to do the right thing, so you might as well find it in your heart to be extra kind and pick up someone else's trash on your way. If nothing else, it's good karma :)
COMMENT 333360	2012-10-19 02:53 PM
I think this is one of the weirdest things, too! I pick up after my dog (never left a poop behind, yet!) I do occasionally leave a completely tied up bag behind a rock or someplace if I'm out hiking someplace where there's not a trash can for a few miles. But I ALWAYS pick it up on my way back that way. I do think some people bag it and leave it on purpose, which is just odd. But for those who think we're all irresponsible, consider that a good 90% of owners pick up after their dogs every time. Can you imagine how much poop there'd be if that wasn't the case? Yuck. 358, I think that was wrong. You're giving dog owners a bad name doing that kind of thing.
COMMENT 333380	2012-10-19 03:22 PM
Thank you for this question! I too am sick of seeing this happen. It's becoming more and more popular, almost trendy. Honesty, it would be way better for the inviornment if they just left it to seep into the earth rather thank leave the stink bag to sit in the sun for the next few years. Cmon, I thought pet friendly were more conscious than this.
COMMENT 333384	2012-10-19 03:34 PM
341: Some bags may be biodegradable, but that doesn't make it right to leave them on the trail. It still takes longer for poop in a bag to decompose than poop alone. I'm not saying you leave poop in bags, btw! Just mentioning it so other people don't think that bagging is the important part - throwing the poop away is the important part! 360: You may be responsible, but that's NOT what people see when they see you bag up poo & leave it on the trail. Sucks, but people see you as an irresponsible pet owner when they see that. And I'm not sure where you got your 90% pick up poop number from, but that seems off. I know a lot of people who bag, but quite a few who don't. ...Actually, most of the OWNERS I know bag - the people who care for others pets (boyfriend's dog or parent's dog, that sorta thing) tend to not pick up. But 90% still seems high, especially here.
COMMENT 333396	2012-10-19 04:00 PM
this is reason #857 why I don't have a dog. Too much work. I already have to pack my kids poo out.
AQUAHOLIC	2012-10-19 04:00 PM
I didn't read all the posts, so sorry if someone brought it up, but what on earth happened to all the dog poop in the world before we had poop bags? Seems to me, we've created a far worse problem. That said, I am firmly in the pick up your s*** camp, and do so for my dog. I'm also a designated poop bag fairy, and pick up other peoples 'forgotten' bags, in hope of spread my poop bag karma (oh, that sounds bad) forward!
AQUAHOLIC	2012-10-19 04:02 PM
oops, 'spread-ING'
COMMENT 333402	2012-10-19 04:05 PM
Well, if the poop bags are biodegradeable as some have said, then why not (at least on the trails) just let the poop be? Get it off the trail and let it biodegrade (bagged or not)?
YIN YANG	2012-10-19 04:12 PM
LOL at Aquaholic's "poop bag fairy"! I do so too, but in a residential area. Thus I sometimes leave the bag where I know I'll return on my way back to the house. I realize it's different from a trail. Strongly agree with not grouping all dog owners together. And thank you City for the public trash cans in residential neighborhoods near creeks and in parks.
COMMENT 333411	2012-10-19 04:24 PM
@384, I'm 360. Well, that was my point. When you see a bag, it's possible someone will follow thru with the removal. The bags that stay there day after day are clearly different. I say 90% (this is obviously not scientific) based on two things 1) leashed or accompanied dogs and 2) my personal observation of people out walking their dogs or on hikes. I take my dogs on a LOT of of walks every week, all over town in dog-heavy areas. I rarely see people who don't pick up. When I do, I offer them a bag and call them on their....well, you know. ;) When you think of how many dogs are being walked every day all over the city, the amount of poop being left is actually relatively minimal in comparison, though any is not ok. There's also a big difference between walkers and people who just let their dogs roam, which also is a big cause of left over poop. (And now, I'm not hungry for dinner, so this is a good conversation for dieting!)
COMMENT 333420	2012-10-19 04:52 PM
I live next to the Jesusita trail. Our private access roads intersect and parallel the trail in many places. Our impacts are dog poop bags left at our gate, women's used TP flying in the wind or stuck up against our gates where they stepped off the trail onto our private property to take a wiz, mountain bikers and hikers that like to cut the trail and use our private roads because they're smooth and pretty, yet they give us the stink eye or the finger when we ask politely to stay on the trail. And off leash dogs on our private roads, the owners clearly trespassing, yet they yell at us to slow down! On our own property! Middle aged female power walkers and runners are the most disrespectful of all. A true sense of entightlement.
MESARATS	2012-10-19 05:00 PM
There was a saying in Baja about the time they paved Hyw 1, "Bad roads good people, good roads all kinds of people".
COMMENT 333427	2012-10-19 05:00 PM
@RichyRich...ok, I'll bite. How the heck do you know what womens' used TP looks like? I'm sure men are offensive, too. I hear what you're saying, even if it's being drowned out a bit by focusing on women.
COMMENT 333428	2012-10-19 05:09 PM
339: Horses are vegetarians, their diet IS actually good fertilizer. Many dog poop bags designed for dog poop are biodegradable, but that doesn't change the fact that they likely don't biodegrade on the pavement in open air before they get washed down the storm drain. 314 is EXACTLY right. Do the right thing when people are around, but huck it off to the side when nobody is looking. The truth is, the people doing this don't really care, and I doubt they will unless it directly affects them, which it doesn't.
NATURE BOY	2012-10-19 05:48 PM
358: You are the problem. You threw a bag of your dog's crap onto somebody's roof because he complained about you not disposing of it properly? Well, you proved he was right. What a sad thing. And even if the bags are biodegradable doesn't mean people want to see plastic bags in the bushes off the trail while they're trying to enjoy the beautiful wilderness. And that includes people who only leave them until their return. Nobody wants to see a bag of dog crap on the ground, EVER. Take it with you, please. We hike on the trails to see nature, not litter, no matter how temporary.
FIRST DISTRICT	2012-10-19 06:26 PM
Many valid observations. Until now I guess I thought I might be the only person alive wondering about this pathetic situation. How about neighbors who allow their canines to visit the property of others on a daily basis. No way can Animal Control put an end to such a situation.
COMMENT 333463	2012-10-19 06:31 PM
@NatureBoy, I agree with you most of the time, but a little poop in a bag for 45 minutes along a trail or road IS natural, actually. A wild animal might poop on a trail (I've seen it myself, shockingly enough) but it doesn't bag it up. That's the only difference. If we start nitpicking about non-natural vs natural things being on a trail, then we can say that we don't want to see people wearing clothes, bringing gear or wearing shoes, either. There's plenty of wilderness to enjoy and focus on without being distracted temporarily, trust me.
COMMENT 333464	2012-10-19 06:34 PM
Ironic for a property owner to mention entitlement. Richyrich, you may want to reacquaint yourself with the definition of the word, as well as the spelling. Please don't mistake my comment as a defense of the people you were referring to, I'm in agreement regarding the problem with lack of respect, however, the irony needs to be pointed out... Even if, no ESPECIALLY if no one else noticed. As for poopbags, why can't the poop be scooped/flung off the trail? All it requires is a nearby stick and minor coordination skills... No plastic bag necessary, on the trail OR in the trash. Nature loves a poop scattered amongst the undergrowth! The bags are an attempt at solution, but it seems they are more of a problem. Fling the poop! Enjoy your (public land) hike!
NATURE BOY	2012-10-19 06:57 PM
463: I know what you mean, in a way. Seeing a plastic bag on the trail just shakes me out of my natural enjoyment of our wilderness. And wild animal poop is a completely different concept: Wild animals = wild poop. Of course wild poop is natural and ok. It's just the domesticated dog's poop in man-made plastic bags... it's different. When you see wild poop, it indicates wild animals. The poop of the pet of a human is different, obviously. I don't see how you can equate it with people wearing clothes. Not by any stretch of the imagination.
COMMENT 333477	2012-10-19 07:02 PM
463: The difference is, people go on a trail, or out in nature, so they can experience it. Every aspect of modern life is so perverse, the only way to escape is to go to our local trails. And NO, dogs are not a wild animal, so they would not naturally exist or be pooping on a trail. The problem also wasn't that people leave it and pick it up on the way out, the problem is that people DON'T pick it up at all. I've gone by on rattlesnake canyon and carried out as many as 4 bags covered in dirt because they have been sitting there for a week. If people trash their house, whatever, if they trash the closest thing we have to nature left, I have a problem with it. I'd have less of a problem if there were a little poop here and there (not in a bag). There are so many dogs though, that it would literally be everywhere if nobody ever picked it up. The number of dogs vs the number of wild animals travelling where we hike is not even close.
COMMENT 333479	2012-10-19 07:03 PM
@NatureBoy, I think what I meant is not that wearing clothes is akin to poop in a bag. But rather that everything we do on a daily basis is nature covered up. From clothing to poop bags. I get that it's a different thing. And I get that poop from a pet is different, too. I guess I'm just saying that within that plastic bag is nature at it's most undeniable. For what it's worth, I think it sucks that people leave poop in bags or don't pick up after their dogs. It drives me nuts. But I do see a reason to leave it and pick it up on the way back down.
NATURE BOY	2012-10-19 07:07 PM
If we let our dogs leave crap piles on the trail, in bags or raw, it lessens the enjoyment of the trails for others. Period. What don't people understand about this? Can i leave a plastic bag full of beer bottles on the trail, with the intent of picking them up on the way back?
NATURE BOY	2012-10-19 07:09 PM
479 i hear ya, and peace. But having to see litter just ruins it a bit for us, ya know?
NATURE BOY	2012-10-19 07:16 PM
479: I totally understand what you meant and i respect you. Peace.
COMMENT 333500	2012-10-19 08:25 PM
inconsiderate?
COMMENT 333505	2012-10-19 08:35 PM
I'm the same guy that threw the poo on the roof. That same crazy old guy puts a road cone in his driveway to keep people from turning around there. I now go out of my way to turn around in his driveway, running over his cone while I do it. I beep my horn and hope he'll look out the window and see me doing it, but so far no luck.
COMMENT 333510	2012-10-19 08:49 PM
505, here's one vote at least for the way you do things!
COMMENT 333525P	2012-10-19 11:17 PM
A tip for dog owners: buy your own poop bags. I recommend Mutt Mitts, which you can buy online in bulk at a reasonable cost. The bags are thicker, double thick at the bottom for pick up, and when tied are better are containing the smell, and then easier to carry with you. I put a double knot, which really seems to prevent bad smells. Second tip, if you must leave a bag to pick up later, tuck it away and put some kind of natural trail marker that you'll notice on the way back. It's easy to be distracted and miss it if you're talking to a friend, so make sure you put a marker, or make note of a distinctive landmark, that you'll notice. Happy trails to all! p.s. We also pick up lots of people trash along the bluffs, from beer cans to McD's packaging, so it isn't just the dogs leaving behind disgusting trash.
COMMENT 333530P	2012-10-20 01:24 AM
Everyone who has commented here most likely won't see this, but here's my rebuttal to some of the "arguments" made here. Horse poop is something that a lot of people like to put into their compost and organic gardens. No one uses dog poop because it is full of meat by-products and added chemicals. (That's not to say that horse feed doesn't contain GMO alfalfa, etc, but let's leave that for another thread.) Dog poop stinks. If people throw it off the trails, you are going to smell it. I have spent many hours, albeit years ago, partaking in "poop cleanups" at various off-leash parks. This is what I learned: Dog poop can be rained on for months and months and still retain its shape and ick factor. (Unlike horse poop, which degrades much more quickly.) It is the meat in the poop that won't break down. I can not even begin to count the number of "left-behind" bags of dog poop I have picked up over the years. There is no way in heck that such a high percentage of people "just forgot." This leads me to believe that there are some people who want to be seen "doing the right thing," but then are too grossed out or too prissy (or ??? I don't get it) to carry the poop to the trash where it belongs. Every time I go ANYWHERE, I carry what I like to call "my idiot bags." When I see someone not picking up after their dog (more and more rare nowadays), I call out, "Oh! Do you need a bag? I have one!" 9 times out of 10, the person is relieved to be given a bag. I don't have room here to denote every weird and silly story I have heard as to why this person or that "forgot" or "already used" a bag for poop. With this entire discussion, I think the main point should be: Why are we not encouraging the composting of dog poop? It can be done, and has been done in other cities. I think it's deplorable that we make dog owners pick up poop and thereby add to the plastic in the landfills. And, no, most of the poop bags you see at the Mutt Mitt stations throughout the County/City are NOT biodegradable. Call the County Parks & R... [ more ]
COMMENT 333533	2012-10-20 06:40 AM
Plastic never breaks down, it only disintegrates into small particles and eventually mimics estrogen. We are only seeing the tip of the ice berg as plastic washes into our oceans and enters our food chain. Scary!
COMMENT 333548	2012-10-20 08:13 AM
Yin Yang You are part of the problem, my neighborhood (near lake los carneros) is a trash can for people leaving their poop bags, because they are walking! what the hell, its a neighborhood not your convenient drop spot and I have bags pretty much every day in front of my house from people like you that are coming by to pick them up.... yea right I have had people drop them right in front of me and say I am coming back for it and I guess they mean next week when they walk this route again
MTNDRIVER	2012-10-20 08:21 AM
I can relate to people not wanting to carry their dog's poop during the entire walk or hike, if the dog poops early on. So they leave the bag by the side of the trail. But then it seems like 9 times out of 10 they forget to pick it up on the way back! Truly gross, I agree. But I think the situation is way better than it was in the days before poop bags, when dogs just pooped wherever and people seemed to think it was just fine. I don't think composting dog poop is a great idea, many parasites that probably would survive in home compost piles, which usually don't get hot enough to kill pathogens.
D8VANILLA	2012-10-20 10:11 AM
We pick up the poop-bags on our back. Are you sure that's not whats happening?? I like attaching the poop bag to the dogs' leash and let the dog carry their own poop!!
COMMENT 333593	2012-10-20 11:19 AM
interesting comments, but nowadays we have more and more people, plus more and more dogs, for example -- and more and more hikers, wanderers, etc. as well, who love to take their pets for walks -- and then don't pick up/clean up after they poop (pets that is) -- yes, it would be wonderful and considerate if said bags got picked up and not left behind -- I see them everywhere too
COMMENT 333609	2012-10-20 12:05 PM
People who feel exempt from cleaning up after their animals probably feel the same regarding their children.
COMMENT 333610P	2012-10-20 12:05 PM
Years ago people would train their dogs to do their business at home. Its absurd to think its OK to let them crap wherver they want even if you do clean it up.
YIN YANG	2012-10-20 12:11 PM
548, thanks for making a responsible dog walker part of the problem. The trash can is in San Roque, and rarely used by me or the dog. The dog usually poops pretty quick and we know or at least recognize many of our neighbors, as they do us. They're real neighbors whom we know and chat with. Dogs are good for that. And they're nice neighbors, many with dogs. I don't own the dog, I used to and sometimes still help out an elder who can't walk. I understand that leaving a bag for 15 minutes could be a horrible stressor for neighbors, but that is not the case in this dog's neighborhood. Or is it the "public" trash can use for dog poop you're objecting too? Of course I've also carried poop in a bag in my winter jacket's multiple pockets, if necessary, or by hand. Heck, it's already encased in plastic. I'm big on handwashing too. Hope you also responded to the wrong-headed person who threw a bag of dog crap onto a neighbor's roof. But that may be apocryphal.
YIN YANG	2012-10-20 12:35 PM
To be detailed, if I leave a bag of poop to pick up on my way back, I choose where to leave it with concerns in mind. If it's the neighbors across the street, who has dogs, or one who knows us, or someone who has a dog, no problem. Leave it at my selected spots? okay. Using a dog owner's trash can put out on the street IF IT HAS NOT BEEN PICKED UP YET? Yup. We rarely go as far as the public trash can I mentioned. Would it be better if I left the plastic bag of poop on the ground next to it? And this dog has mental issues, needs to be taken out to poop. Everyone on our street knows us and there are 3 other dogs. We all look out for each other. I've cleaned up after their dogs. One dog owner said not to bother in their yard. So I pick up after their dog too. Just pointing out that true neighborliness can and does exist. Again, I'm not on a trail. I'm in a neighborhood where we are known. There's even someone down the street who leaves a kitchen-sized plastic bin out on "her" parkway. Once again, darned if you do & darned if you don't. Don't judge what you don't know is another golden rule.
YIN YANG	2012-10-20 12:41 PM
And... 548, you say "your neighborhood is a trash can..." I was talking about a real trash receptacle, serviced regulary by City workers, and not in front of a residence, but next to a bridge over a creek.
ZEUSTHEGOOSE	2012-10-20 03:55 PM
interesting that with over 60 comments only 1 person so far has mentioned cigarette butts. infinitely worse for the environment than dog crap and far more common on trails and beaches than bags of dog excrement.
COMMENT 333713	2012-10-20 05:35 PM
Seth the volleyball player on Sunday mornings let's his dog run and poop right there at the beach. Feet away from the ocean. I confronted him "who's dog is this? He just pooped over there!" not knowing that he thought himself 'famous' and Boom! the misogynistic 'you should get laid' and 'you need a man' comments came out of his filthy mouth just because I ranted at him to pick up his dogs poop and how he was making it so we all looked back. There's a jerk for ya! I hope that guy doesn't have kids. What a jerk!
REDTOP	2012-10-20 06:18 PM
As a property owner and a dog-friendly person, I am dismayed at people in the downtown area who pick up dog poop and then leave their bags of poop on our property. Why do they think that I am responsible for their dog???
NATURE BOY	2012-10-20 06:27 PM
610P: You think it's absurd to let dogs poop if you scoop it up? You're clearly not a dog owner. Zeus: Only one person has commented on cigarette butts because that's not the topic. The topic is dog crap.
COMMENT 333727	2012-10-20 06:54 PM
All dogs carry coliform bacteria, including E. coli, spread through feces. There are about 78 million dogs in the US. A 75lb dog makes 500lbs of poop/year. You do the math. And 40% of dog owners don’t pick up after their dogs. Seagulls and other birds may be more to blame for high bacteria counts at many CA beaches, but are protected. Dogs and dog owners, are one of the few offenders authorities have control over. What to do? Flush it. Plastic and bio bags take eons to degrade buried in a landfill. Flushing into a municipal system kills the bacteria before entering the ocean or other waterway. BUT: don’t flush cat waste. It harbors Toxoplasma gondii, a parasite NOT killed by sewage treatment and responsible for the deaths of hundreds of sea otters as it concentrates in the shellfish they eat.
COMMENT 333746	2012-10-20 08:07 PM
@719 or you could toss it on the vball court and watch him make a big dive for a ball and hope he face plants into a pile! He's such a jackass! THAT would be funny. Yo Seth, pick up your dog poo and don't go all 80's 'you need to get laid' like your 80's beard, you tool!
ZEUSTHEGOOSE	2012-10-21 10:59 AM
nature boy, there's a plethora of metaphors and comparisons in the other comments. i was pointing out that only one other person felt it was worth viewing the issue from a similar perspective with respect to cigarette litter. sure i own a dog and pick up his poop but i feel the behavior of other dog owners is pretty insignificant in the list of easily avoidable human induced detriments to our environment.
COMMENT 333882	2012-10-21 01:14 PM
I walk the trails all the time and in the summer the first few hundred feet are so unbearable on most trails from the smell off dog pee and poo. On the Mcmeny/saddle back trail i actually had to put my shirt over my nose for a month of the stinkiest time during the summer every time I hiked. One time I happened to follow a young couple with a dog unleashed and the dog was running wild and pooed three times before we got to the river crossing where I had to RUN by them so I could get passed them. Of course, they didnt know or cared to look at the dog pooing, and i my nice morning hike i got the fresh stench of poo for the first leg of the hike. Nasty. I think the majority of people around town do pick up after their dogs. On the beach parkway i saw a woman actually grab it straight out of the dog, without even hitting the ground. I thought it was pretty extreme and gross. Its funny how dogs used to "serve" people, and now look who serves who!!!
CRUELTYFREE	2012-10-21 01:47 PM
@358: Do you get a thrill from bullying an old man? Show some respect. How about you go help him out. You might see that his life is hard and you are making it worse.
COMMENT 333959	2012-10-21 03:25 PM
The old man neighbor and all the other neighbors worked for years and years more than anyone one else (besides the Higmans, God bless them, who also lived nearby) to save the Wilcox property as a nature preserve for the public. It could have gone to the Land Trust but it didn't, it went to the people. What do the neighbors get in return these days? A lot of parking, noise, dust, trash in the gutters, dog poop in the parkways and trash talking dog owners! Here is how it works, if you, dog owner, want to ignore the rules, leave bags behind and be obnoxious then the rest of us have the right to CALL YOU ON IT and do so repeatedly. No amount of bluster, arguing, threats or personality attacks will change the fact that YOU are in the wrong, period. Don't forget, on any Tuesday, City Council can change the rules.
COMMENT 333969	2012-10-21 03:51 PM
There does seem to be a general ethnic distinction when it comes to picking up poop. I have found that hispanics do not pick up as frequently as anglos - somehow they think it is not necessary? Cultural differences? I don't know. This is my observation. It is a certain amount of cultural insensitivity - perhaps in Mexico they don't pick up after their dogs - I don't know. Of course there are plenty of irresponsible people all around of all races and I am continually shocked by the amount of poop I see at the edge of sidewalks. How clueless and irresponsible and self centered can people get? I always always carry bags and pick up for my two dogs. Always!
COMMENT 333992	2012-10-21 04:36 PM
One observation - the so called bio degradable plastic bags are everything but- we did an experiment one and a half + years ago with a "Mitt Mutt" bag - and put one with poop in an out of the way spot near the trail where we all walk our dogs - after about two years the thing is still there- hasn't degraded one bit! It is too bad that these things go into land fill but the suggestion of dog poop as compost sounds good if it can be done - I feel bad about how much dog poop I contribute to the land fill each week - perhaps it could all be collected and we could build a dog poop island somewhere near Eureka and make it into a future Alcatraz for Pelican Bay's worst of the worst!
COMMENT 334169	2012-10-22 08:36 AM
Poop thrower here. If anyone is a bully it's the old guy doing the yelling. Last year I saw him yell at a woman until she was reduced to tears. When we had our confrontation he threatened me with physical violence. Thanks for reminding me about this guy. I'll be sure to run over his road cone today when I drive in to walk my dog.
COMMENT 334274	2012-10-22 11:26 AM
That guy that is being aggressive while visiting Wilcox is one security camera away from a fine and perhaps a court date. If I was the old guy I would get someone to make me a concrete cone and then paint it orange to look as though it was plastic. Then I'd film when the guy was trying to be tough by running over my cone and put the result on you-tube. Probably his postings here are just fantasy raving, in reality he just parks his smart car in the nearest open spot and leashes up his chihuahua right there next to his car.
COMMENT 334286	2012-10-22 11:48 AM
274, where do you live, and how high is your roof?
COMMENT 335777P	2012-10-26 06:56 AM
I think 'that guy' is Seth.

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