As the dog population grows in Downtown, so does the problem of keeping our streets clean from doggie urine and excrement. The Downtown Center Business Improvement District has launched a campaign to encourage dog owners to potty their dogs in appropriate areas and most importantly pick up after your dog. They have been handing out postcards with a list of do's and don'ts on them that mainly points out the appropriate places to potty, which are not the sidewalks, planters, sides of buildings, trash receptacle, or fire hydrants. I know a lot of dogs that do go on the sidewalk, because they are city dogs, this is where they learned to go. A great practice for picking up their poo is to carry baby wipes with you, after you pick up with the bag give the sidewalk a wipe with a baby wipe. It is easy and it keeps it clean. I think it would be easy to see the campaign and feel like the city is not supporting our dogs. This is not the case at all, they want to make sure that the city continues to grow and stays in a condition that welcomes all of us, dogs included.
We should all do our part to keep the streets clean and to be responsible dog owners, make sure to pick up after your dog.
