Even a 3-year-old gets it. It’s “not nice” to not pick up dog waste.
Sarah Branson and her then 3-year-old grandson were at a park in Annapolis when Branson had to move dog poop out of the way of the playground equipment her grandson was trying to use.
Later, Branson, an Eastport resident, posted about the incident on the Eastport Neighborhood Forum Facebook group.
“Three piles of dog poop in the children’s play area at the Chester Street park,” Branson wrote. “Even my 3-year-old grandson knows that is wrong and asked, ‘Why are people so rude?’ We can do better, folks.”
Branson and Arundel on the Bay resident Dawn Davis have found public dog waste stations to be a convenient solution to having a cleaner neighborhood and a less polluted bay. Since 2009, Davis and other Arundel on the Bay residents have maintained six dog waste stations.
Davis’ homeowners association agreed to install and maintain the stations after resident Julie Winters worked with the Anne Arundel County Watershed Steward Academy to fund half the cost of installation. Winters is still passionate about the issue about seven years later.
“I really encourage people to pick up pet waste, whether it’s out while they are walking their pets or if it’s in their own yard, because it (the waste) does contain a lot of bacteria” as well as being a source of nutrient pollution in the bay, Winters said.
Pet waste contains nitrogen and phosphorous that pollutes the bay, said Bruce Michael, the director of resource assessment service for the state Department of Natural Resources.
Fertilizer on suburban and agricultural properties contributes to more pollution in the bay than pet waste does. But the Sustainable Maryland program, a certification program that helps municipalities create sustainable communities, encourages municipalities like Annapolis to adopt pet waste ordinances, implement education programs and develop the appropriate infrastructure.
Mike Hunninghake, Sustainable Maryland’s program manager, encourages county residents to use the examples on SustainableMaryland.com as blueprints for their own communities.
If residents have a homeowners association, they can use it to bring up concerns about the need for pet waste programs and propose their own programs.
Residents without a homeowners association can petition the County Council to install dog waste stations and signage and to create dog parks for a more controlled walking environment.
Winters also encourages residents to contact the Anne Arundel County Watershed Stewards Academy to see if it can provide a grant for dog waste prevention projects.
Residents can partner with more than just homeowners associations and the county, Hunninghake said. “For example, communities can partner with the local Boy Scouts. Sometimes you see signage that is handmade, which can be quite effective, I think. Sometimes it is pointed and punny.”
Michael said, “We’re seeing reductions in phosphorous and nitrogen loads and sediment loads. Last year, 2015, we had the most bay grasses in the Chesapeake Bay that we’ve ever had since 1984, when we began measuring them.”
Branson said she understands there was a time when picking up was not common courtesy, but she now is making sure her grandchildren will not repeat the same rudeness she encountered at the park.
“Our grandsons like to help us walk the dogs, and one of the things they learned very early is that when the dog goes we take our little bag, we pick it up and we put it in the garbage.”
Nathan DiCamillo is a freelance writer in Annapolis and student journalist at Olivet Nazarene University. Contact him at nadicamillo@olivet.edu.
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