One Sign You Are a Bad Pet Owner

Like many other Apple Valley residents I enjoy rising early to take my dog for a walk. My preferred destination is off road on the trails of our beautiful, quiet Alimagnet Park. Walking through the park is always zen-like, with the trees rustling in the soft wind, the birds chirping and the flowers blooming, but that feeling of tranquility quickly fades when you see, smell or step in a large pile of warm dog poo. It is one thing if the experience of meeting dog excrement on a morning walk was a rarity but quite another issue when it happens almost daily. Especially when you walk out your front door to find a pile on your front lawn that doesn’t belong to your furry companion.   

Now, I’m all about live and let live but when your type of pet parenting affects other people it becomes another matter entirely. Whether we enjoy it or not, being a responsible pet owner includes picking up your dogs waste and most certainly not letting your dog leave a heap on the neighbor's lawn. So I will put it bluntly, if you can’t clean up after your pet then you shouldn’t own one!    

Your pets waste is unhealthy for people, other animals and our environment. The CDC (Centers for Disease Control) has confirmed that pet waste spreads parasites such as ringworm, tapeworm, salmonella, E.coli, hookworms, roundworms and parvo, among others.  Although pet waste will dry up and disappear over time, the parasites remain for years and can be transferred to animals and humans. In 1991 the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) stated that pet waste is a “nonpoint source of pollution,” which means it falls under the same category as oil and toxic chemicals. Pet waste is one of the largest threats to local aquatic life, as the bacteria is washed into storm drains after rainfall where it eventually ends up in our lakes, streams and rivers killing or infecting everything from fish to beneficial algae. When our children swim in those infected waterways they too become at risk.  

Aside from the environmental and health risks associated with not cleaning up after your pet there is the small matter of the law. An Apple Valley city ordinance requires you clean up after your pet. So instead of looking over your shoulder to see if someone is watching as you walk away from your pets mess, why not try putting a plastic bag in your pocket before you head out the door for a walk. It takes a matter of seconds to actually bend over and pick up what your dog left behind. Not only will you be following the law you’ll be making the environment a much more enjoyable place to be and protecting your health and the health of others in the process.