Mounties! Whether you have a dog or a cat, or both it is important to dispose of your pet waste properly. We wanted to share a few pointers for you.
Let’s start with man’s best friend. Why should you pick up after your dog? Obviously it is gross and noone wants to step in a pile of dog poop when they are running to catch the 83 or headed down to the Glut. Even if you’re a dog owner hanging out at the new Mount Rainier Dog Park (Eastern & Rhode Island – open from dawn to dusk) you wouldn’t want it sitting around.
But you might be thinking that you can leave it in your yard or up in Barnard Hard Park and since no one is going to step in it it will just fertilize the grass naturally. Well it actually won’t – it can even poison the grass due to its acidity. It also can carry diseases that can remain in the soil and harm other dogs or even people (http://bit.ly/mrgt-cdc). And when it rains it finds its way into our water systems and enough of it can make rivers and lakes poisonous to swim and fish in (http://bit.ly/mrgt-epa-dp). Don’t leave that dog poop around!
But what about our furry feline friends? Like dog excrement, cat feces can carry diseases that are harmful to humans. One in particular, Toxoplasma, cannot be eliminated through sewage treatment and can be particularly bad for pregnant women and persons with immune system problems (http://bit.ly/mrgt-sc-cp). Don’t flush that cat poop!
So what does one do? Simply put your dog and cat waste into the trash.