There has been a debate going on for years about the importance of picking up dog waste, but today the question of whether or not dog feces is harmful to the environment is irrefutable. A survey by the Center for Watershed Protection found that 41 percent of respondents rarely or never cleaned up after their dogs. Their reasons included, "Because it eventually goes away," "Small dog, small poop," and my favorite: "Just because." I suppose I understand this type of apathy, yet I do find it loathsome, irresponsible and offensive.

The reason most municipalities, including Sarasota, have ordinances dictating you must pick up after your dog is quite simple: All dogs, from the blue-blooded champion to your little Fluffy, harbor 'coliform' bacteria in their gut. This bacterial group includes E. coli, a pretty well-known bacterium that is extremely toxic to humans. Dogs also carry salmonella and giardia. Salmonella bacteria can live on the ground for over two years. Freezing temperatures won't kill it and summer heat won't either, unless the temps get up to about 130. It has to degrade over time to die. If you get sick from the giardia parasite, your symptoms of diarrhea, stomach cramps and vomiting will take from two to six days to dissipate. At the worst, they can kill you. The demographic most likely to get sick from these bacteria are the very young, the infirm and the elderly.

If you're not used to picking up after your dog, get used to it! It's the right thing for your neighborhood and the right thing for the environment. And it couldn't be easier to simply put your hand in a bag, pick up a dog pile, turn the bag inside out, twist the top and toss it. Not doing that gives responsible dog owners a bad name.

A native of Louisiana, SRQ Daily Columnist Gregg Flowers owns Dog's Best Friend Dog Training Services here in Sarasota, where he "teaches dogs and trains people." Gregg became fascinated by our relationship with dogs as a boy in the '60s, and by 1985 had developed his own unique style of working with dogs and their humans

Dog's Best Friend