I watched with admiration as a person curbed their dog with a community provided biodegradable bag.
That feeling did not last long as I watched the same person throw that bag in to an environmental protection area.
How do we break the cycle? What do we do to convince people to curb their pets?
Options:
- Screaming like a raving lunatic – I have seen this attempted (and it could have been me) and although it made for an interesting incident reported to the liability carrier– it did not have the desired effect on pet owners.
- DNA testing of dog and dog feces – I have no personal experience with this but do know that this has occurred in communities throughout the country. It seems a little extreme – but that would depend on the severity of the problem.
- Hire someone to pick up after pets – There are firms in the metropolitan area that do this and I am sure we can find a local company if needed that would add this to their services provided. This is not cheap, and can have the reverse effect as more people will not pick up because they are paying for a service to do that for them.
- Educate, Reeducate, Remind, and Reinforce – the communities I have seen have success are those that remind owners not just when there is a problem but continuously throughout the year. Add a cute graphic or a new catchy phrase to the campaign every year to keep it fresh and fun.
Some helpful education material:
- Maryland Coastal Bays supplies this one page flyer to educate everyone on why we need to keep dog poop out of the local waterways.
- This great article on 5 good reasons why to pick up poop. Good for condo and homeowners associations.
- This article is a how to on picking up poop!
What ideas have your community tried? Has it worked?
Thanks for reading.
