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I'm concerned about the amount of dog feces we will likely see on trails and in our parks after the snow melts.
This year, due to COVID, there are a lot more dogs, and they all do 'their business' when their owners (many of whom have a dog for the first time) take them for a walk.
Unfortunately, dog walkers may think that the dog feces, which is now being covered by snow, will have disintegrated or dried up by the time the snow melts, but it is not. It will still be as slimy and yucky as it is now, and at the current rate there will be lots of it.
As humans, we don't particularly like to see our own feces, or that of other humans, why do dog owners feel it is OK for us to see dog feces, or worse yet... step in it?
Trail users, cyclists or the dog walkers themselves may inadvertently step on the feces in the spring, and have a messy and unpleasant clean up of their boots as a result. As a hike leader for the Midland Club of the Ganaraska Hiking Trail Association, and a member of the Town of Midland and Town of Penetanguishene Active Transportation committees, I am very concerned about the lack of proper trail and dog walking etiquette.
Dog owners are expected to 'stoop and scoop,' take the feces home, or at the very least kick the feces far off the trail surface.
And please, dogwalkers, don't leave the doggie bags hanging from trees, or discard them adjacent to the trail. Plastic does not biodegrade for years, and whether the baggie is black or coloured, it is unsightly in nature.
Thank you,
Frieda Baldwin
Midland
