Quote:
Originally Posted by zonerboy
Kitty, although I am a dog owner I generally do my best not to allow my dog to place a paw on any one else"s property when we are out walking. But I am willing to speculate as to why other people might do so.
My guess is that they do so because they somehow think it is basically harmless. No harm, no foul, so to speak.
For example, I am strolling down the sidewalk alone. I encounter two ladies walking side by side in the opposite direction taking up the entire width of the sidewalk. They are chatting away and do not notice me. So to avoid being bumped into I step off the sidewalk and stand on your lawn until they pass. So technically I have just trespassed on your property. But since I can imagine no harm being done, I don't give it a second thought. Do you think that this is an unreasonable attitude on my part?
Or lets say I"m walking down the sidewalk with my dog beside me. I'm not paying attention and as we pass your yard, he suddenly lifts his leg and "marks" (pees on) one of your bushes. Half an hour later I see you outside and say "I'm sorry, but my dog peed on one of your bushes a while ago". Do you actually think you could go over and discover which bush it was without my telling you? If you went out and looked every day for a month, do you think you could tell which bush it was?
I pick up my dog's poop from my yard everyday. Most time it is solid enough that, after picking it up there is no visible residual. Is my yard still somehow to be considered contaminated in some manner? If the poop is somewhat mushy and there is a residual, how long should the area be considered contaminated in your opinion? In my experience, if I go looking the next day, I cannot pinpoint exactly where that poop had been. Is it still dangerous or to be considered somehow unpleasant? How long does such a condition persist?
Sorry to be commenting in such gross detail, but it seems a matter of such extreme concern for some people, that I felt I had little choice if I wished to understand where others are coming from.
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Some of your questions are answered here. You sound like a very responsible owner.
Facts About the Dangers of Dog Poop
Dog poop is a problem we deal with on a daily basis. But is it dangerous? How much do you know? Is pet waste a health hazard?
Here are the dangerous facts:
1. Dog poop is NOT good fertilizer. It's toxic to your lawn! The high nutrient concentration in dog poop will burn and discolor the grass, creating "hot spots".
2. Nearly two decades ago, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) classified pet waste as a dangerous pollutant in the same category as toxic chemicals and oil.
3. You may not live near water, but unscooped poop from your yard is carried by overland water flow or is washed into storm drains, ending up in far away streams, rivers and ground water.
4. The U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirms pet waste can spread parasites including hookworms, ringworms, tapeworms and Salmonella.
When infected dog poop comes into contact with your lawn, the poop will eventually "disappear", but the parasite eggs can linger for years! When a human or animal comes into contact with that soil through everyday activities like walking barefoot, gardening or playing, they risk infection from those eggs ... even years after the poop is gone.
5. Pet waste is teaming with E. Coli and other harmful bacteria including fecal coliform bacteria, which causes serious kidney disorders, intestinal illness, cramps and diarrhea in humans. (There are 23 million fecal coliform bacteria in a single gram of pet waste!)
6. Dog poop often contains roundworm larvae, which cause blindness. If a human ingests a roundworm larva, it can migrate through the body causing disease to the brain, lungs, kidneys, liver, heart or eyes. So when people (especially children) touch soil, dog toys or anything that has been in contact with dog feces and then touch their mouths, they can become infected.
Dog poop doesn't just "wash away" or disappear. So if you're not disposing of your dog's waste, you're putting yourself, your family, your dog and your water supply at risk.