Several agencies in Juneau are teaming up to get dog owners to recognize that yes, that squishy brown stuff that comes out of “Fido” really does need to be picked up.
A couple weeks ago members of the Juneau Audubon Society approached the city Assembly about stepping up enforcement of dog owner responsibilities because of issues with copious amounts of dog poop littering trails and parks, along with reports of people being knocked down by loose dogs and wildlife being harassed.
Karla Hart spoke about the issue at that meeting. She was the coordinator for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s Watchable Wildlife program and was part of the task force working on dog rules about eight years ago.
She said trails and parks become an obstacle course and said dog waste has become a serious issue.
“Dog waste is raw sewage,” she said. “It’s not just this benign thing.”
Hart said there are bacteria and other harmful things in dog poop that take time to go away — even if a pile is old, that doesn’t mean the harm is gone.
“There are also issues with people having their dogs off-leash and uncontrolled,” Hart said. “I met several people who have been injured from being knocked over by a dog. The dog didn’t mean harm. But because they’re just dogs, their owners are saying ‘oh, I’m sorry, he’s friendly.’ There are perfectly nice dog owners that just don’t get it somehow.”
Hart suggested that there have been eight years of “voluntary compliance” with city ordinances on responsible dog ownership and the concept isn’t working well enough, so perhaps it’s time to step it up.
“Fifty percent of the dogs in town aren’t even licensed,” she said. “That’s money not going into the city to help support the K-9 enforcement. There are lots of laws on the books that aren’t enforced.”
Hart's estimate may be a lot higher than actual registrations, according to Animal Control and Protection.
Gwen Baluss, conservation director for the Juneau Audubon Society, said uncontrolled dogs are also a growing problem as dogs are chasing migratory birds, which need to spend their time eating and conserving energy not “wasting energy escaping dogs.” Baluss pointed out that dogs chasing birds is harassment of wildlife — and it is illegal.
Julie Coghill, president of the society, also commented, pointing out that dog waste improperly cared for gets into water streams and can cause issues for many kinds of wildlife. She spent 45 minutes on the Airport Dike Trail prior to that meeting and counted more than 100 piles of dog poop, she said.
The Assembly asked City Manager Kim Kiefer to take a look at the issues and see what can be done. Kiefer was the Parks and Recreation director when the issue was first addressed eight years ago.
The Parks and Recreation department was already working on steps to improve responsible dog ownership in the city.
It’s joined forces with state and federal agencies and is working with local interest groups that were on the taskforce several years ago for how to best deal with dog laws and compliance.
Parks and Recreation Superintendent George Schaaf said the issue comes up every spring as snow melts and the piles are revealed from months of pet owners not scooping poop. Throughout the year, reports come in about dogs jumping on people or chasing wildlife.
“It seems like there is a lot of momentum with the city, state and Forest Service to try and do something about it,” Schaaf said. “The dog task force back in ‘03 talked about dog enforcement. We’re not really trying to duplicate that, but we’re trying to involve the same people who were involved in that.”
That includes several city departments, Alaska State Parks, U.S. Fish and Wildlife, U.S. Forest Service, Gastineau Humane Society’s Animal Control and Protection, the Audubon Society, Grateful Dogs of Juneau and Trail Mix.
Schaaf said the meetings the group is having focus on what the agencies already have in place — with lesser focus on the complaints.
The Forest Service, State Parks and city are working on a joint open letter that will address responsible dog ownership outdoors in Juneau.
“From the public perspective, they don’t always know if they’re on city-managed land, state land or federal land,” Schaaf said. “It shouldn’t matter.”
Schaaf said the city also plans on updating its signs as some signage is inconsistent. He said new signs will focus on education and clarity about the city ordinances dog owners are expected to follow.
Grateful Dogs of Juneau is tailoring is education announcements to the issue as well.
George Utermohle, president of the group, said they also organize “poop scoops” around town to trails and parks that really need clean-ups. They have been known to organize these events for Sandy Beach, the Airport Dike Trail, Dredge Lake and other areas.
“We just do trails all around the community and have an ongoing education campaign to encourage dog owners to be responsible and to maintain that their dogs are under control as necessary for the situation,” he said.
Utermohle said the issue isn’t new and it’s something they try to address with dog owners along with other ownership responsibilities like maintenance and exercise.
“It’s part of their interaction with the rest of the community as good dog owners and good stewards of the community,” he said.,“We’ve been involved in this issue for a long time, this issue coincides with our concerns. ... The problem is generated by a small portion of the dog-owning community. It affects all dog owners, not just the people who are offenders. It’s a matter of raising the consciousness and awareness that that’s their responsibility.”
Schaaf, also a dog owner, agreed that it is a relatively small portion of dog owners who aren’t being responsible enough.
“...The vast majority of dog owners are responsible,” Schaaf said. “It only takes a few people to be a very visible problem. One dog probably defecates twice a day. If you have five dogs owners who are not cleaning up after their pet, it becomes very noticeable. We’re trying to come up with a solution that doesn’t punish the people who are being responsible in Juneau and also get a handle on the problem we have.”
Schaaf said CBJ Parks & Recreation provides about 200,000 poop bags per year, and the Forest Service provides about 35,000. Docks and Harbors also provides the bags for people, however Schaaf didn’t have the number readily available.
Schaaf said Animal Control and Protection is doing a terrific job, however they only have a small number of enforcement officers who also are taking on cases like animal abuse and attacks.
“Trying to solve the problem mainly through enforcement is not likely to be successful,” Schaaf said. “The city’s dog regulations are pretty much everything we have to go on.”
Schaaf said people need to be aware that Animal Control is out there and of the laws that need to be followed.
“There are specific areas where dogs are required to be on a leash,” he said. “There are many areas where they have to be under competent voice control, which is clearly defined in the ordinance. If you have ever had to apologize for your dogs behavior, your dog is not under competent voice control.”
Animal Control and Protection Officer Matt Musslewhite agreed that dog waste is a big issue.
“Absolutely,” he said. “It has been for some time. If you go out and hike any of the more popular trails or any of the parks in Juneau you will see fecal matter just about everywhere.”
Part of the problem with enforcement is people tend to pick up after their pets when enforcement officers are out or when other people are visibly in range.
“People tend to not clean up after their dogs when no one else is around,” he said. “It’s a personal responsibility issue. We believe it’s a small number of people who don’t clean up. Most of Juneau’s dog owners are responsible and pick up after their dog.”
Musslewhite said that the agency has worked hard on education and working with other interest groups. The groups also try to provide tools to make it easier for people to clean up the mess by adding the doggie bags and garbage cans.
“Education is really the key to remind people its their responsibility as a dog owner to clean up after their animals,” he said. “It’s rude not to. You’re affecting everybody. Other dog walkers may end up losing a place to walk their dogs if these fecal issues or dogs-off-leash issues get to be too bad. At this point we’re spending a lot of time, some of the popular trail heads for leash enforcement and of course (dog clean up).”
Musslewhite said they will be stepping up patrols of trail heads this year and giving warnings and citations to those who aren’t following the ordinances.
“Hopefully the exposure this is getting now will get people’s attention,” Schaaf said. “If it doesn’t work we have other options in city code we can use, including closing parks and trails to dogs due to excessive dog waste. We don’t want to do that, but it is an available tool to us. I really don’t want to do that.”
Contact information for Animal Control and Protection is 789-6779 or http://www.ghspets.org/site/?q=node/13.
Contact information for Parks and Recreation is 586-5226 or http://www.juneau.org/parkrec/.
• Contact reporter Sarah Day at 523-2279 or at sarah.day@juneauempire.com.
Comments (86)
Add commentIt's not that hard - and it's the law
PLEASE pick up after your pet.
Forget it Jake, it's a dog town.
If a dog poops in the park and no one is around to step in it, does anyone care?
Hart said there are bacteria and other harmful things in dog poop that take time to go away - has she ever been around duck or goose poop? That stuff will stick around like an unwanted guest, kill your lawn and it won't come back for years. And what makes these groups soooo sure that all of this is dog poop? I have been downtown and spotted [filtered word] sapien feces. Hiker shouldn't complain about stepping it in either, it happens all the time on Juneau's trails. Porcupines, goats, bears, deer - all not picking up after themselves. Sounds like these groups who sit upon their golden toilets and matching baday at their homes expect our animal companions to do the same. Take a squat Juneau Dogs and do what you got to doodoo!
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@futomake
Have you ever tried to get someone's phone number with a big black bag full of St. Bernard protein submarines in your hand?
Game, set, match!
all I see are bags
Walking on the trails what I tend to see are a lot of plastic baggies filled with dog poop being left everywhere. In my opinion I would rather walk the obstacle course and let the rain and time do what it does to the poop than having to see the trails littered with people filling little plastic baggies and leaving them around. I agree there is also a ton of goose poop, duck poop, and other critters out there so I think the idea that the dog feces is "raw sewage" and poses more of a threat than wildlife feces is a little over blown....much like the article.
Juneau has a dog poo problem
the video.....
http://vimeo.com/36304438
Agreed, sister
The people that leave their wrapped poop on trails seem to think that the various authorities employ people to come pick them up. And the Forest Service? If they were to remove bear poop from the Glacier walkways instead of putting up signs pointing to it ("Look! This is black bear poop! Notice the composition: the bears are feeding on salmon! Or berries!") I'd be a little more willing to follow my dog 50 feet off the trail so I can pick up her waste.
I see dog doo
Every where I go, there is someone, young, old and in between, letting their dog take a crap and not picking it up. I have seen them crap in front of my driveway, in my yard, in other peoples yard, grassy areas of the park, in the middle of the bike path, etc. It would only take a second to bend over and pick it up in a bag. If you are going to be coming back that same way, leave it and pick it up on the return trip. It is disgusting and unsanitary to let your dog crap where ever it feels like. Small children like to walk on the bike path, or run in the green grass and are not yet proficient at walking an obstacle course. I think it's time they stepped up enforcement of this. After a ticket or two, people might get the message that they need to pick up after their dogs!!!!
Jezze
Some people have too much time on their hands.
Keeping pets is a luxury that
Keeping pets is a luxury that damages the environment and reduces the sustainability of our planet.
No truly concerned environmentalist would "own" one.
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/pet-dogs-damaging-environment-suvs/stor...
In "Time to Eat the Dog, the Real Guide to Sustainable Living," Robert and Brenda Vale charge that a medium-size dog has a footprint of 2.1 acres compared with slightly more than one acre for a standard sport utility vehicle.
....Cats are roughly equal to small Volkswagens while two hamsters have the same footprint as a plasma television. Goldfish are comparable to a pair of cell phones.
The APPA also estimated that the pet industry will total $45.4 billion in 2009, compared with $43.2 billion last year and $23 billion in 1998.
Be a responsible pet owner
I own two (albeit small) dogs. Their poop combined only makes half of one big dog's, but it still needs picking up. Yes, there's lots of wildlife that leaves piles behind in our public places, but why not do our part in keeping our city clean and pick up after our own pets. I think it's ridiculous to think that just because wildlife doesn't get picked up after, that we don't need to clean up after our dogs. There's nothing I hate more than seeing that great big retriever poop across the street where my little neighbour girl likes to play. I haven't seen a bear, or a deer, or a porcupine poop there lately...but EVERY DAY the retriever is back....
Bags
Those of you complaining about the baggies left on the trail. I suspect they're left there by dog walkers who will collect them on their return and dispose of them.
Any of you who have had dogs know that the dog does its business in the first 100 feet of starting a walk. If someone's walking the dike trail, they're not going to want to carry the bag of poop the entire way out and back, so they set it by the side of the trail and collect it on their return.
Think about it, is someone going to be responsible enough to bag their dog poop, then not throw away the bag? Maybe they forget to collect it on rare occasions, but I think that's the exception.
In my case - Lat is right
When we take our three dogs out to walk them at a park, we will pick up after them and leave the bag or bags off to the side for when we turn around and come back.
If the city wants to not allow people to temporarily leave their poop bags off the side of a trail, but keep it with them at all times, then let them amend the code. Otherwise there is no law against it.
I agree that bagging and just leaving it there is almost as bad as doing nothing.
When discussing the issue of irresponsible pet owners with Animal Control, they suggest taking video of the pet and owners in the act of making a deposit and leaving it there, respectively. Sounds crazy but if this helps them to hold people accountable, I'll do it. And if I get harassed or threatened in so doing, the pet owner will have more of a problem on their hands than just Animal Control.
Amen imo!!!!
I took my kids to Melvin Park to play and after awhile they started rolling down the little grassy hill. I went over to film them laughing and thoroughly enjoying themselves when I started walking through a mine field. I instantly told the kids to stop rolling in the grass because some inconsiderate dog owners have left their calling cards all over the park. They were saddened but did as I instructed. It's like this on our street, and on the trail across the street from us. I even find it in our yard and we don't even own a dog. There are serious health issues that come from dog feces and I wish dog owners would take them seriously. I get told all the time that dog feces is clean due to their diet.....maybe I should become a vegan and defecate in their yards and see how they like it, after all 'its clean'.....right?
It IS a problem
The wildlife poop comment is a little off the mark as the most heavily traveled trails are regularly filled with humans and their dogs, but visited by wildlife only occasionally BECAUSE of the presence of the humans and their dogs. The percentage of waste on these trails is much more likely to be dog as a matter of numbers. So, efforts to collect and properly dispose of this waste should have a noticeable impact. This is a big deal for the casual family walkers with children, as young ones can be a little less careful when making their way on a foot trail. Yes, the parents should be monitoring, but aside from having your child closely tethered to your hip - it is possible for kids to stumble into the many piles on the trails.
This is a dog-centric town, and while I don't begrudge anyone their enjoyment with the four-legged friends, I do expect that they clean up after them as it is a widely accepted societal norm. Sadly, this is a matter of personal responsibility, and some will take a "no one is watching" approach. Of course, my neighbors will come over to talk to me and let their two golden retrievers simply poop in our yard and do nothing about it. So, some owners simply don't think it is a big deal and will need to be reminded in a courteous manner that it is preferred that they clean up after their beloved companions.
So we do not become a fascist society...
PLEASE CLEAN UP AFTER YOU PET. Whenever I hear KH or see her name in the paper I think "troublemaker." And, to read a blog like that from noroadfugitive I think "watch out - here they come."
raw sewage
@georgeschaff- while hiking some time ago on a local wilderness trail, I noticed a significant amount of feces covering the trail. Yes, we are talking about raw sewage. It was repulsive and just plain disgusting. It bothered me so much so, that I tracked down the culprit.
While trying to think about what I was going to say, I decided I better just stay quiet. So, I sat there watching. Finally, after witnessing the beast defecate yet again, I couldnt take it anymore. I pulled up my gun and shot it. A nice fall buck.
If dogs are in a park, I understand the need to clean it up. But if they are out running in the wilderness, I say to leave them be natural. Dont require a leash and they wont poop on the trail-- difficult rationale to comprehend, but actually quite simple. I cannot fathom the logic behind punishing a dog or its owner for pooping in the woods.
Not picking up after your dog
Not picking up after your dog introduces all kinds of nutrients to the ecosystem. This is a good thing.
If it really bothers you, just think of all topsoil as decomposed [filtered word]. That's essentially what it is. And you step in it every day.
Fine PP
I'll come over with my kids and give you all the "nutrient top soil" you want.
Bad owners?
I live near an apartment building that houses Legislators and legislative staff during session and tourist workers in the summer.
I see the leggies walk their dogs. I see the dogs poop. I see the leggies walk away.
They really like Juneau.
[I often say "Thanks for leaving that poop there! It’s really nice of you." Invariably they laugh, smile, and walk away.]
[Growing up in AK, I was taught to shoot dogs that were in the act of chasing wildlife. Yes, I was taught to shoot and kill domestic animals that harassed wildlife. How times have changed...]
Lots of good stuff in this letter
One of the longest I've ever read on this ANnuAL issue. Oh, and the bags of crap left on trails? This isn't about looping back to pick them up (not that that is an excuse either), I really think there are people that actually don't understand it's a two step process: bag it, trash it.
Mike
@Mike
This ain't no annual issue homie, almost every article on this website is dog s**t, in one way or anutha :)
not just parks
It's not just parks at all. People have been using the patch of grass next to the sidewalk between 2nd and 3rd on North Franklin for years. It is beyond disgusting.
Dogs are wonderful, loyal,
and in some cases more evolved than some humans I know. However, the dog is only as good as it's owner. Dog owners that refuse to scoop the poop and who refuse to leash their dog are irresponsible, and should not have the privilege of such loving companionship. I love dogs - it's many owners I can't stand.
sounds
like a good my turn opportunity for a local troll.
A few bad turds
are giving the rest of us a bad name, and I agree they should be held to account.
We always have this poop everywhere problem every spring when all the snow melts. I see little white napkins on the side of the trail all the time too. What about all the human waste at the landfill, I'm far more concerned about that, than a turd here and there on a trail.
Here's a couple questions for all of you annual spring complainers. Would any of squat for a #2 in snow up to your bum, or would you squat on the trail, where the snow isn't up to there?
Have you ever seen a dog step in their own doings....no, they walk around it, of course they're not so busy blabbering on their cell to see it either.
Karla Hart, and a few of the other fair weather "paved trail hikers", need to focus on more important issues. Counting turds....really Julie Coghill....you need to get a life!!
And yes, I pick up after mine, because you wouldn't step in it, you'd trip over it.
CBJ if you are going to do
CBJ if you are going to do this then please address Fireworks, this is a serious health issue for many resident in Juneau. I have been waiting for the assembly to do something about this but have not heard one word.
The law is: No Fireworks are allowed within 500ft of any neighborhood.
Please educate the public on this law by putting up signs, notices in the paper and please get JPD to start enforcing this law. Please do this before the 4th of July!
There's no place for dogs...
The Best Place to Pick up Dog Poop!
A Dog Park.... oh wait...we don't have one.
Thanks for stirring up hate
Thanks for stirring up hate against dogs and their owners in Juneau once again Karla Hart and friends!
Last time this was a big issue in town I was treated like a criminal while out walking my dog. People were rude, had snide comments, it was the worst couple of years in Juneau that I have ever experienced!
it is hard enough owning a dog without this hate directed at dogs and their owners. screw all of you people.
A $h!tty situation...
People whining about it isn't going to make people pick up their dog's mess. Increasing enforcement isn't going to help either... does JPD catch ALL the speeders? What we need is an actual solution, and here's my suggestion: Start a program through the Glory Hole where Juneau's "chronic inebriate" problem people can earn $0.05 per bag of CANINE poo they turn in. Charge every dog owner in town $1 per year, and apply that money to the "poop fund". The trails will be clean, the drunks will be drunk, everyone's happy!