When you're walking down the street and almost step in dog poop, don't you wish you could get the animal's thoughtless owner and rub his nose in it?

Unfortunately, this type of response would probably be banned by the U.S. Constitution as being "cruel and unusual punishment." But it certainly fits the crime.Last month, in the face of numerous complaints from residents, members of Nesquehoning Borough Council were dogged in their resolve to step up enforcement of the community's ordinance that pet owners must pick up after their animals.Just as most communities do, Nesquehoning has a law which forbids a pet owner from allowing his dog's excrement to remain on any public thoroughfare. The penalty is a modest fine - enough to get your attention but probably not enough to discourage this bad behavior. Maybe a stiffer fine would do both. We don't understand why pet owners need to be reminded of something so basic. What's so hard to remember? You carry a baggie with you, and when your dog does its duty, you clean it up and take it with you for disposal.Inconsiderate pet owners, who want the joy of having one but none of its responsibilities, might be interested in knowing that dog waste is an environmental pollutant. So says the federal Environmental Protection Agency, which in 1991 placed it in the same category as herbicides, insecticides, oil, grease, toxic chemicals and acid drainage from abandoned mines.So, as you can see, this is not something that should be waved off as inconsequential. Aside from the damage that dog waste does on your grass, one gram of dog doo-doo can contain 23 million fecal coliform bacteria, which are known to cause cramps, diarrhea, intestinal illness and serious kidney disorders in humans.According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, pet droppings can contribute to diseases that animals pass along to humans. When infected dog poop winds up on grass surfaces, the eggs of certain roundworms and other parasites can stay in the soil for years. This means that anyone who comes into contact with the soil runs the risk of encountering the eggs. Thisapplies to dogs or other animals, too.After all, dogs smell it, roll in it, walk in it, even eat it. In the process, they pick up serious diseases. The average dog does a number two twice a day, which adds up to about 14 piles a week. Contrary to urban legend, dog feces do not fertilize soil. If dog feces are not picked up by the time it rains, the germs and diseases can be spread more rapidly into the environment, especially nearby waterways.Here is another consideration: Flies will consume and lay eggs in feces, then come into homes and spread disease as they land on food and countertops. How's that for an appetizing thought?I can be snarky on the subject. When a neighbor's dog was let loose and pooped on my front lawn, I gathered up the droppings in a plastic bag and deposited them at the neighbor's front door with a note that said, "Here is your dog's poop on the stoop."I never had the problem again.So why do pet owners fail to pick up after their dogs? They might believe it is too gross to be handling dog poop. Beside, they rationalize, what harm does it do? Maybe they forgot a bag, or they just don't want to carry a bag, or perhaps they are too self-absorbed and think only of themselves.We want to stress that it is only a small number of dog owners who are irresponsible by not cleaning up after their dogs, and they tend to give all pet-owners a bad name.We suggest that civic-minded individuals follow the lead of Nesquehoning council member George Sabol, who filed a complaint after seeing a dog owner failing to clean up after his animal.Council President David Hawk said it is difficult to cite a person unless he is essentially caught in the act. This is where we, as responsible community members, can spring into action. We suggest that this is everyone's responsibility. When you see an owner fail to clean up after his pet, say something, or, better yet, preserve the moment by snapping a photo, which can then be passed along to law enforcement officials if necessary.We commend Nesquehoning Borough Council, which is barking up the right tree when it announced it wants to come down hard on discourteous dog owners, and we wag our tails approvingly of the effort which should be emulated in other communities.By Bruce Frassinelli |

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