Ed. note – Here’s the latest from contributor Sarah Heath. Sarah, a real estate broker with Matrix Real Estate, writes about North Seattle life on her personal blog, North Seattle Sarah. Every Saturday, Sarah brings us her musings on life in Green Lake.
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This blog post is really crappy.
No, really, it is. I’d like to talk about poop for a minute. Specifically, dog poop. Even more specifically, the dog poop that was NOT picked up ON the Green Lake loop that I nearly stepped right in (be glad that there are no photos to accompany this post today).
I’m a dog owner, and I understand that picking up your dog’s poop, well, it’s not very fun, is it? I don’t enjoy it. But I have a dog, and with that comes certain responsibilities, so I pick up after my dog. I pick up not just because its the law, but because of that Golden ”treat people how you want to be treated” Rule – I don’t want to step in dog poop, and I’m guessing the next person that walks my way probably doesn’t want to step in it either.
Just this summer, Seattle Public Utilities launched Restore our Waters campaign. They had coasters at our local bars (Naked City was the first) explaining facts on water pollution. According to Seattle Public Utilities, Seattle has more than 125,000 dogs – that’s a lot of poop. And the dog poop can carry bacteria – like roundworms, E. coli, and Giardia. If it gets washed into the storm drains, and/or ends up in streams and lakes, people could end up swallowing the bacteria and can actually get sick that way (really makes you want to swim in Green Lake, right?) So, by leaving it there you’re not only risking someone else’s nice shoes, you’re risking their health and their children’s health.
If that doesn’t guilt you into picking up your dog’s poop, maybe this will: according to Seattle Municipal Code 18.12.080, you can be fined not only for not picking up after your dog, but also just for not carrying ”equipment for removing feces” while out in public – up to $54 each time. Is it worth it?
