To the dump with the doo-doo Published Oct. 28, 2010 By Sarah Wesley 12-year-old Scott resident SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. -- Imagine strolling through a park or meadow and, upon hearing a splat, lifting your shoe to find a huge, brown, fetid mass. Imagine looking around and seeing poop everywhere. That scenario is common in many places, because many people do not pick up after their dogs. Everyone should pick up after their dogs no matter where they live. It is polite to pick up dog poop. No one likes to step in it. Someone's dog may step in the poop and track it into buildings, causing embarrassment to the owner and disgusting the other people in the building. Seeing dog droppings everywhere ruins any walk because the walker cannot let the dog go anywhere it likes, and the walker must watch wherever he or she steps. It is courteous to pick up your dog's poop because it shows that the dog walker cares about other people. Dog droppings mar the landscape, no matter how pretty the landscape might be. Due to the fact that it contains a lot of nutrients, dog feces kills the grass by overfeeding it and creates a polka-dotted landscape, which is caused by the dead grass under piles of dog poop. These dots, like rust on a car, cause the area to look badly maintained. Your dog's poop is not something that people want to see when they go walking. Dog poop causes pollution that can lead to many common illnesses in both people and dogs. A study by the Tampa Bay Estuary Program stated that there are 23 million microorganisms in .035 ounces of dog waste. That amount of bacteria is 10 times the amount of bacteria in a cow pie. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say that pet droppings are a hazard due to diseases, called Zoonosis, that animals can pass to humans. The eggs of certain parasites can last for years in the soil, and anyone who is exposed to that soil runs the risk of contracting the disease, even the dog. Small children and puppies like to dig and put dirt in their mouths, furthering the risk of disease. In August 2010 in Manchester, England, a two-year-old girl named Amiee Langdon fell face first into some dog poop as she fell off the slide. She wiped her eye before her mother could get to her. The next morning, she developed flu-like symptoms and awoke with her eye swollen shut. The hospital confirmed that she had a case of toxosiscariasis, a disease that can cause blindness and even death if not treated. If the antibiotics do not work, her eye will have to be removed to prevent the illness from damaging her optic nerve in her brain. If the antibiotics do work, she still will be facing partial blindness. This accident could have been prevented if the owner had picked up after his dog. Dog droppings cause other problems. Rain or floodwater can wash dog feces down into lakes, rivers, and beaches where people swim, fish, and play. According to Dogpoopbgone.com, dog poop causes 20-30 percent of stream pollution. Another site, DoodyCalls.com, says the EPA estimates "that two or three days" worth of droppings from a population of about 100 dogs can temporarily close a bay, and all watershed areas within 20 miles of it, to swimming and shellfishing." Many people argue against picking up their dog's droppings. These dog owners say that picking up poop is disgusting and they do not want to lug it around until they get home. Other people say that the bags are expensive and it takes too much time to pick up after the dog. Some owners say that it does not matter that they do not pick up the poop because they think dog poop is fertilizer. In the view of many people, picking up after their dog is a waste of time and money. It takes only a little time and effort to pick up after the dog. While picking up dog poop is disgusting, it is even more disgusting to step in it. The dog walker does not have to lug the poop around because most walking areas provide multiple trash cans for this express purpose. As for the expense of bags, at dogpoopbags.com, 500 bags are $18.95. Each bag is 3.8 cents. If the walker is not willing to pay that small amount of money, plastic grocery bags work well too. Picking up a pile of poop takes about two to three minutes, including tying the bag. Picking up their dog's poop shows that the walker has respect for the people who walk in that area, the people who care for the area, and that they care about the outlook of the place itself. Keeping your neighborhood clean of dog poop will help residents and visitors enjoy the beautiful countryside while saving people and dogs from disease. Picking up after your dog protects the community and enhances its reputation as a clean, safe place.