Discussing Dog Waste

To put it crudely, we are discussing dog poop in the City of Peachtree Corners.

Dog waste is an environmental and visual pollutant, often overlooked by dog owners. When unattended feces from the neighbor’s dog happens to appear in our yard, then the exposed pollutant becomes an issue for charged discussion. We expect responsible dog owners to exercise civic sensibilities and community/neighborhood consideration by cleaning up after their pets.

Owning a dog is easy but responsibly owning a dog is not a task to take lightly.

Should the city be imposing restrictions/fines on owners that do not clean up after their dogs? Specifically, leaving discards in public and private property.

This city’s clean environment and the greenery surrounding Peachtree Corners has always impressed me. Sometimes, there are hidden aspects that not always reveal at first sight. On June 22, I went along with fellow Peachtree Station residents to collect trash along the West Jones Bridge Road. We moved along the stretch of the road beginning from the Peachtree Corners Baptist Church collecting trash.  We collected three big bags of trash. In addition to this, we encountered several spots of unattended dog waste, while dog walkers, morning joggers and cyclists continued with walks, runs and exercises. The dog waste was not just limited to grassy area of the sidewalk but also on the paved part where people walk and mothers take their children on strollers. Not cleaning after the pets is a surprising aspect of Peachtree Corners, an identity of the City and Community that I did not associate with previously.

Dog waste is hazardous; a breeding ground for diseases, it is an eyesore, which can even find its way into your home, given the right unfortunate circumstances.

In 1991, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) categorized dog waste as an environmental pollutant, presenting environmental and health hazard. Dog feces carry common worms, parasites and bacteria, which easily spreads with the rain, entering the local waterways and surrounding watershed. The city has seen plenty of rain the past several weeks. This open contamination, accelerated with the rain becomes an easy ground for parasite transmittal to humans.  The EPA estimates that one single gram of dog waste carry 23 million fecal coliform bacteria. The rate of contamination by dog feces spread quickly.  The longer the dog waste remains on the ground, the greater is the level of contamination.

The worst part is when we step on unattended waste inadvertently.

So, where do we draw the line?

The City of Peachtree Corners does not have code enforcement to control dog waste yet.  Does the city require enforcing dog waste, or will irresponsible dog owners change their ways and behavior?