Asphalt is really tough on the paws of our furry friends, especially in this Atlanta heat. It can cause injury as well. Below is a guide on Hot Asphalt Awareness for our dogs. (Courtesy of Carolina Pooper Scoopers)
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SARASOTA COUNTY - County health officials have issued a "No Swim" advisory for a waterfront park popular with pet owners.
Bird Key Park is located on the west side of the Ringling Causeway in Sarasota. The "No Swim" advisory is due to elevated levels of enterococci (enteric) bacteria, some of which are naturally present in the environment, on Thursday, July 10. Enteric bacteria can come from a variety of natural and man-made sources including pet waste, livestock, wildlife, stormwater runoff, and human sewage from failed septic systems and sewage spills. The county's response team has ruled out sewage spills and determined that the cause is likely due to natural sources. The team determined that pet owners have not been picking up after their pets. They say that even though the pet waste stations were well-stocked with plastic bags for picking up the waste and garbage cans for disposal, large amounts of pet waste had been left along the beach in close proximity to the water's edge. This follows recent "no swim" advisories in Sarasota County including one in Nokomis Beach which was lifted two days ago, and one in Venice Beach in late June. Signage advising the public not to swim or engage in water recreation at Bird Key Park Beach will remain in place until follow-up water testing results meet the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recreational water safety standards. The results of follow-up water testing will be available on Saturday, July 11. Testing has revealed bacteria levels within acceptable limits at all other area beaches. See more at: http://www.mysuncoast.com/news/local/pet-waste-may-be-cause-of-bird-key-park-closure/article_5e67f024-0904-11e4-a5ae-0017a43b2370.html By Stephen Betts, BDN Staff
Find on Facebook Posted June 23, 2014, at 11:12 a.m. Last modified June 23, 2014, at 2:14 p.m. ROCKLAND, Maine — The city is trying to determine the source of pollution that has led to an E. coli level more than seven times greater than what is considered safe at one spot in the harbor. The wastewater plant director said, however, the pollution appears to be restricted to an area near the stormwater discharge pipe at Snow Marine Park and does not extend out further into the harbor. Snow Marine Park is a popular place for people to launch boats. The elevated bacterial count was first detected by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection a little more than a week ago while it was testing several selected Maine harbors. The city followed up last week and did its own test and found the E. coli count was 2,700 spores per sample, far more than the 400 limit, according to Terry Pinto, director of the wastewater treatment plant. The pollution was found at the end of a 36-inch-wide pipe that is supposed to only be draining off stormwater from Snow Marine Park and a section of the city’s South End. While no cause has been pinpointed, Pinto said it could be the result, at least partially, of dog droppings from pets that frequent Snow Marine Park. The city has an ordinance that requires people to pick up after their dogs, but the lack of cooperation by some dog owners has been an issue raised in the city. Pinto said he has decided to have a $1,000 test done of the water samples that will determine from what species the bacteria originates. He said the test will be able to determine whether the bacteria came from humans, dogs, seagulls, raccoons or other animals. The city has sent cameras, attached to small remote vehicles, up the stormwater pipe to help find the source but has not found it, according to Pinto. He said the camera work will continue, sending the camera further up the line. ANOTHER great reason to hire a dog waste removal (pooper scooper) service:
"To avoid backyard snakes, do not leave dog food or dog feces lying around. This attracts rodents and rodents attract snakes." See more at: http://lakewood.advocatemag.com/2014/06/23/copperhead-bites-dog-surviving-snake-season-white-rock-area/#sthash.6PIHKDZK.dpuf THE CANINE BEHAVIOR SERIES
By Kathy Diamond Davis Author and Trainer Poop! Cleaning Up After Your Dog Prior to adopting a dog, most people don't give much thought to the task of poop cleanup. Once the dog has joined the family and the need becomes apparent, some people tend to avoid cleaning up. This can lead to problems. Reasons to Pick Up Dog waste contaminates the ground and becomes a means of passing intestinal parasites and infections to dogs and people. Your own dog can be repeatedly reinfested by parasites in this way. Picking up the feces prevents a great deal of the contamination, especially if diarrhea is not involved. Cleanup can reduce veterinary expenses and might even save on human doctor bills. Because of contamination as well as smell and mess, dog waste is highly offensive to many people in the community. It often becomes a reason to ban dogs from areas. Of course the dogs can't clean up after themselves, so this is a people problem rather than a dog problem. It's easy to enact "no dogs allowed" rules, and then the people who clean up suffer right along with the ones who don't. If happiness for you is being able to have your dog live with you in an apartment or condominium, be scientious about cleaning up. Dog waste damages landscaping, offends other tenants, and costs money to landlords and homeowners associations. In markets where there are plenty of tenants available to rent the property, landlords tend to eliminate dogs to get rid of these problems. It pays to not only clean up after your own dog, but others, too, whenever the poop is especially conspicuous. Neighborhood disputes over dog poop can escalate into real misery. In some localities it is illegal to allow your dog to relieve on someone else's property unless you have that person's permission. The very existence of such laws is an indication of how seriously people take the cleanup issue! If you've ever tried to have a pleasant outdoor meal next door to a yard contaminated with foul-smelling dog feces, you have some idea of how quality of life can be affected by cleanup neglect. If you've found your lawn mower stinking up the tool shed because of dog feces on the mower blades after mowing your own yard where someone else's dog deposited poop, you surely weren't pleased. Keeping the yard clean keeps the dog cleaner, since the dog won't be stepping or playing in the mess on relief trips outside. A clean yard also gives both people and dogs a lot more exercise space. Ways and Means Various tools are available for picking up dog waste. Some people use a shovel, and may bury the waste in the yard. If you want to dispose of the waste outdoors, a septic or other sewage disposal system may do a better job of handling potentially infectious material. Scooper tools can make the job easier. These are usually lighter in weight than a shovel and more customized for the pickup task. You can tote along a bucket or bag to save steps. A simple plastic bag slipped over your hand like a glove makes an efficient and completely clean pickup tool. A latex glove is also useful. A wide variety of bags will work, making this one way to recycle. Simply pick up the poop, turn the bag inside out to enclose it, tie the top, and deposit it in a legal container. This system works well on outings as well as at home. If bending is difficult for you, a long-handled scooper tool may be your better choice. Some of these are designed to work with disposable bags. There are quite a few different tools designed for picking up poop. In many communities, you can hire a service to pick up dog poop from your yard on a regular schedule. If there's not a service near you and you're an enterprising person, it could make a great business for you. Good Habits You can make pickup easier with how you manage your dog. Though you need to always be ready to pick up on outings and walks, many dogs will learn to relieve themselves at home before and after walks if consistently given the chance. That saves you having to carry it home. Keeping the elimination to certain areas can help the dog be more social on outings, too. Some dogs will defend territory they have marked by urinating and defecating. Getting your dog to do this at home instead of on your walk can have a positive effect on the dog's attitude toward other dogs and people on walks. If your outings are long and the dog needs to eliminate before you get back home, you may be able to teach your dog to eliminate on cue. Dogs vary in how their bodies work for elimination. Some will be so stimulated by exercise that they simply must move their bowels on every walk. This is just the way they are made, not a training issue. Be Proud There's no place so isolated that you can be sure dog poop would not put some animal at risk of catching something from your dog, or some person or animal at risk of stepping in the mess. Picking up is just part of having a dog. If everyone would do it, there would be far fewer objections to dogs living and traveling in human communities. Be proud to be seen picking up dog poop. It may seem silly at first, but people who see you do this will know any mess left behind is NOT from your dog. Picking up shows pride in your community, in yourself, and in your dog. You set a great example for others, and you help create a brighter future for dogs and their people. Date Published: 3/6/2004 12:38:00 PM Date Reviewed/Revised: 03/06/2004 Kathy Diamond Davis is the author of the book Therapy Dogs: Training Your Dog to Reach Others. Should the training articles available here or elsewhere not be effective, contact your veterinarian. Veterinarians not specializing in behavior can eliminate medical causes of behavior problems. If no medical cause is found, your veterinarian can refer you to a colleague who specializes in behavior or a local behaviorist. Originally published: July 14, 2014 5:39 PM
Updated: July 14, 2014 8:53 PM By SCOTT EIDLER [email protected] Pick up or pay up. Those are the basics of a proposed law in North Hills that will require residents to "promptly" clean up after dogs -- even if the mess is on the pet owner's own property -- by putting the droppings in a sealed, plastic bag and disposing of it in a covered trash bin. The proposed cleanup law developed after a dispute between residents in one of the village's 29 communities, Mayor Marvin Natiss said. A homeowner had complained that the droppings of a neighbor's dog were not cleaned up quickly. Natiss did not identify either homeowner. "There was a family that wasn't picking up. A neighbor complained," Natiss said, adding that the concerned neighbor was worried rain could spread the droppings. Because of that dispute, Natiss said, the code change requiring prompt pickup on "any property" in the village of 5,000 residents, means even in the pet owner's own yard. The village board of trustees will hold a hearing on the proposal Wednesday. Fines for not picking up would be $50 for the first offense, $100 for the second, and $200 for the third, Natiss said. The North Hills law is designed to mirror North Hempstead Town's animal nuisance provisions, Natiss said, but neither the town code, nor those in other villages, include specific provisions for owners to clean up after dogs on their own properties. Other sanitation codes may apply, including one that requires properties to be kept free from "unsanitary conditions," town spokeswoman Carole Trottere said. Concerns about pet waste have heightened in other Gold Coast villages from time to time. In Port Washington North, street signs and newsletters remind the 3,100 residents to be friendly neighbors. "There are people whose homes are near bus stops and these kids are . . . walking into this stuff," Mayor Bob Weitzner said of dog waste. Animal advocates agree that pet owners should clean up after their dogs, but said the North Hills interpretation may go too far. "I think it is an intrusion . . . on the rights of private individuals," said Beverly Poppell, past chairwoman of the state bar association's committee on animal law and the acting president of the Wantagh-based nonprofit Pet Safe Coalition. "Droppings on private property may or may not have to be picked up immediately -- that depends on whether such droppings are a nuisance or a health code violation. It depends on the situation case by case," she said. Natiss acknowledged property rights, but said "when a condition affects the health or welfare of the adjoining property owner, we think it's important to enforce the regulation." Bob Sowers, a detective with the Nassau County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, supports cleaning up pet waste on a regular basis to keep "a sanitary environment for your own pet," but questioned how the law would be enforced on private property. "Someone can take a photograph, or someone can call Village Hall and we can send somebody over," Natiss said of reporting and enforcement efforts. "We think it's important that we have it [the law]. How we enforce it will be something we'll cross as we go forward." http://www.newsday.com/long-island/towns/north-hills-village-targets-dog-waste-in-owners-yards-1.8798869 LifeLine Animal Project is happy to announce a big expansion of our Catlanta TNR
(Trap-Neuter-Return) program! With over 22,000 feral cats fixed using the LifeLine Spay & Neuter Clinics, Catlanta was already the first and largest organized TNR program in Atlanta. We are now offering free feral cat spay/neuter surgery in both DeKalb and Fulton Counties! Note: Proof of residency in DeKalb or Fulton is required. Going forward, we will provide trapping instructions, traps, and free feral cat spay/neuter and vaccines at our LifeLine Spay & Neuter Clinics. Trapping cats for free spay/neuter is an easy and rewarding way to help Atlanta's cat community. With your help we can stop hundreds, even thousands, of cats from entering the county shelter system only to be euthanized at great expense to taxpayers. A longtime proponent of TNR, Pam says, "I’ve been doing TNR for six years for my personal colony and for colonies of other people. It has made a major change in my rescue life because prior to TNR I could only agonize over a feral at a dumpster or junkyard. With the help of LifeLine’s Catlanta and cheap spay/neuter for ferals I can stop the breeding and improve their lives." "There are so many advantages and positives about TNR and absolutely no negatives," added longtime volunteer Suzanne. "It truly does save lives and improves the lives of these kitties who were handed a bad hand because of irresponsible pet ownership, lack of spay and neuter, and abandonment. So it's left up to folks like my group and rescue groups like LifeLine, who give a damn about these wonderful creatures to work towards a solution." If you know of a feral colony that needs free spays/neuters and you are willing to participate in the TNR process by trapping and transporting, please email [email protected] to get started. Now that our program has expanded, LifeLine Animal Project is looking to increase capacity in our clinic feral recovery room (while simultaneously making it much easier to clean). To save on costs, we are asking for your help. The individual parts don't cost much but we need a lot, so if you want to help our feral friends please consider giving the gift of a shelf pole and some casters via our Amazon wishlist. All the kitties thank you for your support! By Mary Reid Barrow
Virginian-Pilot correspondent © March 2, 2011 http://hamptonroads.com/2011/03/pet-poop-isnt-good-your-lawn Poop pollutes! Whether the poop is in your garden, on your neighbor's lawn or on city medians, its bacteria is washed by rain into storm drains that flow into our waterways. You don't have to live on a river for dog waste to pollute the water. Poop not only pollutes rivers and lakes, it also pollutes your own yard, neighborhoods, parks, schoolyards, beaches and friendships. Dog waste spreads illnesses, such as stomach bugs and worse. I am an advocate for scooping the poop because of my association as a volunteer with Lynnhaven River Now and the Virginia Beach Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. We found years ago that up to one-third of the fecal pollution in the Lynnhaven River at the Beach can be caused by dog waste. And there's indication that some beach closures along the Chesapeake Bay and Oceanfront could be due in part to dog poop, said Susan French, Virginia Beach horticulture extension agent. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that two to three days of dog waste from 100 dogs in a small bay watershed can contribute enough bacteria to temporarily close the area to swimming, French said. The SPCA estimates that 40,000 dogs are in Virginia Beach alone. You do the math. It is bad enough to think about children swimming or playing in your garden among poop bacteria, no matter how limited it is, especially when the answer is simple. Scoop the poop. No matter what you hear or think, dog poop does not fertilize the trees along the sidewalks, the sea oats at the beach nor the flowers in your garden. Dog waste can have twice as much nitrogen than, say, cattle manure. "It may have too much nitrogen for plants," French said. "It can be detrimental for plants." French said that when deposited on the surface of the ground, poop would probably be susceptible to run-off before it breaks down into the soil anyway. In addition, dog poop does not belong in a compost heap. It belongs in the trash, in the toilet or in a specially designed pet waste composter. "Your compost pile will not get hot enough to kill the bacteria in dog (or cat) waste," French said Think of diseases like roundworm and salmonella, which can be found in dog manure. Even worse, think of the possible consequences of fertilizing your vegetable garden with compost that includes dog waste, or simply leaving dog waste to break down near your veggies. "There are so many things that aren't good about dog waste," French said. She mentioned calamities such as a child walking barefoot through poop in the yard, or a gardener getting contaminated with it while digging in a flower bed, or stepping in it and introducing bacteria into the house. If neighborhood garden clubs and civic leagues would get on the bandwagon and focus on "scoop the poop" campaigns, it would not only make for more pleasant neighborhoods (and neighborly relations), it also would make a better world. Here's an idea, Lynnhaven River Now and the Virginia Beach SPCA recently came up with scoop the poop stickers for garbage cans. That way, every week when cans go out on the street, there is a reminder to all residents to clean up after their dogs. The cans become rotating billboards. Scooping the poop is probably one of the simplest actions you can take to help the environment, and a surefire way to improve neighborly relations and clean neighborhoods. "People have to be responsible with their dogs," French said, "and that goes as far as protecting our environment and protecting our neighbors." Mary Reid Barrow, [email protected] To learn more about pet waste and its impact on the environment please visit www.DirtyWork.net | Atlanta's Porp http://www.kionrightnow.com/news/local-news/save-our-shores-staggering-increase-in-bags-of-dog-waste-abandoned-on-carmel-beach/26912592
Save Our Shores volunteers picked up 16 pounds of dog waste bags at a recent cleanup at Carmel Beach. CARMEL, Calif. - Save Our Shores says volunteers are noticing a major increase in the number of bags of dog wasted abandoned on Carmel Beach during this year's beach season. Numerous Carmel community members have brought this issue to the attention of SOS over the last few months. On June 14, three Sanctuary Stewards collected cleanup data to back it up - and the group collected 39 bags of dog waste, a total of 16 pounds, at Carmel Beach. Save Our Shores volunteers distributed dog waste bags to people visiting Carmel Beach on July 4 but during a cleanup there the next day, the 185 pounds of trash collected by volunteers included 37 bags of dog waste. Although there are dog bag dispensers at Carmel Beach, SOS has found that many visitors are bagging their pets’ waste and leaving it on the sand, rather than walking it to a garbage can. "Plastic bags of dog waste on the beach are a serious issue,” said Rachel Kippen, SOS Program Manager. “Not only are they an eyesore and horribly unpleasant, but they also have a direct impact on some of our most critical species, including the endangered southern sea otters that call Carmel’s kelp forest home. " Save Our Shores will be hosting cleanups at Carmel Beach from 10 a.m. to noon on July 19, Aug. 23, Sept. 20, Oct. 18 and Nov. 15. To learn more please come visit Dirty Work, Atlanta's Pet Waste Clean Up and Removal Service http://www.reporternewspapers.net/2014/06/25/study-clippings-dog-waste-polluting-sandy-springs-streams/Posted by Ann Marie Quill on June 25, 2014.
Yard clippings and dog waste are some of the reasons two streams in Sandy Springs become contaminated, says a Kennesaw State University class, whose members presented findings of a six-week summer study to the community on June 24. The study marked the fourth year the class has teamed with the Watershed Alliance of Sandy Springs to conduct field studies monitoring the health of Long Island and Marsh creeks. “It’s a service for the community and an educational experience for [the class],” said Dick Farmer of the Watershed Alliance. The class started after Farmer came across a study of Long Island Creek conducted in 2001 by KSU Professor Mark Patterson and got in touch with him. Farmer asked Patterson if he would be interested in following up on the study. Patterson, along with fellow professor Nancy Hoalst-Pullen, Farmer and Patty Berkovitz of the Watershed Allliance, starting devising a full-credit summer course giving geography students real-world experience in the field. “On average we have 18 to 24 students each summer,” said Patterson, adding that during the course students conduct studies such as water quality testing and urban tree risk assessment. Students in KSU’s Watershed Assessment and Watershed Analysis classes say that while overall the streams are in good condition, there are signs of contamination, in some cases, extreme. “In only the second week, one site found extremely high E. coliform counts,” Patterson said. The Watershed Alliance subsequently alerted Fulton County and the city of Sandy Springs of the high E. coli counts, and also notified nearby homeowners of the risk. The county found a manhole overflow and notified the Environmental Protection Division. The water was treated, and the numbers started coming back down. Student Amy Taylor described her team’s experience in monitoring a section of Long Island Creek. “Our biggest concerns on this watershed were mainly the yards that were right next to this site,” she said. “We found traces of animal waste decomposing near the stream and in the yards.” Taylor also noted erosion taking place on the stream banks, exposing roots and contributing to potential tree collapses, which also dam up the stream and cause further pollution. Overall the students found E. coli levels in both streams troubling, noting that growing amounts of impervious surfaces that come with new development are also a factor in the pollution along with yard and pet waste. But while the biological conditions of the streams need monitoring, the students found that it’s not all bad news for the two urban watersheds. The students found pH balances and dissolved oxygen, which allows aquatic life to breathe, to be in acceptable ranges. “Surprisingly, given how many manicured lawns there are, they’re not finding a lot of [fertilizer traces] in the water,” Patterson said. The results of the students’ study can be found athttp://watershed2014.wikispaces.com/. SEE MORE AT www.DirtyWork.net | Atlanta's Professional Pooper Scooper and Pet Waste Removal Service |
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