b'If Your Dog Poops AndNobody Is Watching(You Still Have To Pick It Up)by Kristin CarsonManagers,residents,andhomeowners, When pet owners dont pick uphaveyoueversteppedindogpoop aftertheirpets,whoisultimatelywhile walking a property? The dis- responsible to get it off the ground?gust for it on your shoe is a much WhenDavid,anemployeeoflargerproblemthanjustpoop- BybypooDogWasteScoopers,shoe.Itimpactsyourbusiness lived in an HOA he noted howandthewellbeingofyourresi- quicklyresidentswerefinedfordents. minor violations. While they doAfterretiringwithover32 emptythepetstations,Davidyearsinthepropertymanage- said,therewereminefieldsallment and accounting fields, the over that were never addressed.business of dog poop has become David has since moved from thatmy full time job. And, boy oh boy, community.haveIlearnedalotaboutdoggie After decades, why is this still andoodie.unresolvedissue?AsEinsteinsaid,Petownersareresponsiblefor Insanityisdoingthesamethingensuringtheirpetswasteispickedup, overandoveragain,whileexpectingbutweknowthatdoesntalwayshappen. different results.Tampa Bay Estuary estimates 40% of pet owners Cheresse Rehart, owner of Yard Guards ondo not pick up after Doody and affectionately known as the Poo Guru, has beentheir pets.in the scooping business since 2003. In 2008 there was aWorld Population states that there are 980,810 people mission to educate the public about dog waste. That quick-living in Pinellas County Florida. Approximately 372,707 ly fizzled out, said Rehart. Since then, the importance ofofthosepeopleownatleastonedog.Whileonedogs picking up dog poop has been lost.There is very little edu-excrement doesnt seem like a lot, 274 pounds of poop does. cation about it. So, it has become our responsibility, as pro-Thats approximately how much one 40-pound dog expels fessionalscoopers,toeducatethegeneralpublic.Ihaveper year. Quite staggering that 148,960 dog owners are not found that new construction automatically has a plan inpicking up after their dogs every single day, and thats just place to proactively solve this issue. However, the older com-in Pinellas County. munities are reluctant to spend money on cleaning it up.Did you know that just one tiny ounce of dog feces has Ultimately the responsibility to keep the property free23 million fecal coliform bacteria? Thats twice as much as of dog-doo falls on the HOAs, property owners, and apart-human waste. Bacteria and E. Coli from the fecal waste ment managers. They should be the ones to enforce theirseeps through the ground when it rains, and travels into our pet policies. It is their fiduciary duty. Enforcing policies andwaterways through groundwater. The additional nitrogen rules,regardlessofpetownership,willensurethatallcontributes to algae growth, also known as red tide. The residents are enjoying their community.outcome?Beachesareshutdown,marinelifedies,our How do we educate our community managers and helpdrinkingwatermaybecomecontaminated;hookworms, them with resident retention while also helping them main-roundwormsandotherparasitesmayinfectadultsand tain an enticing curb appeal? We must first help them solveour children.the dog poop problem on their properties.42 THE NEW BARKER www.TheNewBarker.com'