We are ready to get down and dirty with the scoop on poop and the six important things you didn’t know about it! Every year, International Pooper Scooper Week is celebrated the first full week in April. Do you suppose that has anything do do with melting snow and the piles of “piles” loving pet owners in the north are left to scoop?
Celebrating the Week Dedicated to Scooping Poop
Pooper scooper week was established in 2008 by the Association of Professional Animal Waste Specialists to shine a light on the importance of proper waste removal. According to aPAWS, dogs in the US produce more than 4.4 billion pounds of waste per year. That’s enough poop to cover 900 football fields a foot deep in doody!
Scooping poop is a dirty job, but someone’s gotta do it right? And right now, with our local thaw, snow, thaw snow, we better get on it during the big thaw or ‘poo unveiling’! It’s especially important to pick that poop up so it’s not making it’s way into your house via your shoes (or your Nannie’s shoes) because that stuff can be toxic (not to mention smelly and VERY messy)!
The Real Scoop on Poop and Six Things You Didn’t Know!
- Stop putting dog poop in your garden! It is NOT fertilizer. Dog dooty contains much too much protein which makes it acidic and actually harmful to plants. Not to mention the bacteria and parasites that, when used in gardening, can make humans and other animal sick. YUCK!
- Pet waste left on the ground is one of the largest sources of water pollution! The harmful bacteria and nutrients wash into storm drains and eventually, local bodies of water.
- Dog doodoo commonly carries unpleasant substances like heartworm, whipworm, hookworm, tapeworm, roundworm, parvovirus (often a deadly virus), giardia (highly contagious), salmonella and even E. coli. YIKES! These are GREAT reasons to pick up your dog’s droppings as soon as they “go”.
- Dog excrement takes a full 12-months to break down. Yes, it stays in your grass that long and if it’s carrying bacteria, parasites, eggs, or viruses, those can live that long too! Talk about hazardous waste!
- Children and other pets are at the greatest risk of infection when waste is not picked up. They are right down there on the ground, playing in the dirt (yes, dog dirt when it’s not picked up) and then touch their eyes and mouths. In order to protect our kids and pets, we must pick up the MUCK! (popular British term for the #2s, BMs, and if frozen – poopcicles!)
- The most planet friendly way to dispose of your pet’s “pile” is to flush it! NO! Not in the plastic bag (that would really back things up), but just picked up in toilet paper or dropped from the bag into the potty. Did I say “Pet’s Pile? That should have been DOG’s pile. According to PetMD, it is horribly unsafe to flush cat scoopings into the toilet. Kitty poo can contain Toxoplasma Gandii, a parasite that is dangerous to people and animals and our water treatment systems DO NOT always kill it. OH MY!
How Do YOU Scoop Poop?
Picking up pet waste is SUPER easy. There are convenient little bags – an entire roll of 50 bags will fit right into your pocket on a walk. There are all kinds of pooper scoopers that are handy too! Scoopers are easier on the back than having to bend down repeatedly if you are picking up your yard after a couple of days. The important thing is that we do it. Picking up after your pet is the responsible thing to do, the neighborly thing to do, it protects our water and the lives of those we love – the 2-legged and the 4-legged! And did you know picking up after your pet is required by LAW?
Who has the duty of picking up the dooty at your house? While with their DOG Nanny Group sitters – WE scoop the poop!
Want to read more pet related articles? Check our the rest of our blogs here!