The Story of Dog Poo

What happens to that dog poo you don’t want to pick up? Follow its trip into water supplies in your community!

Lots of people means lots of dogs. And, just like people, dogs have to poo. Human poo generally goes into a treatment system by way of the toilet and a septic system or city water treatment plant. Dog droppings, on the other hand, are either put in the trash or left in place in yards, parks, forests and fields. Contrary to popular belief, it doesn’t disappear. Here is what happens to it…

There are other myths about dog feces, such as it acts like a fertilizer…

However, this is not true. Doggie doo generally contains meat and meat byproducts, not the plant material that makes the best fertilizer. Plus, it is filled with bacteria and parasites that can make you or your kids sick. Also, dog urine, because of the concentrated salts and nitrogen-based chemicals in it, can cause brown spots in your yard. But, back to the bacteria and parasites…

Gross facts: your dog’s doodoo contains fecal coliform bacteria, salmonella and giardia, most likely. An average-size dog dropping contains 3 billion fecal coliform bacteria. And, it’s been found in the AIR! That’s right, there are tiny pieces of dog poo floating through the air in your town, especially if you live in Chicago or Detroit. Fortunately, the parasites, like roundworm and hookworm aren’t in the air, but if you walk barefoot in dog doo, hookworms can get into your body. You can only get roundworm by eating dog feces, which you won’t do, but your toddler might. A small bit of poo on the hand while playing could be transferred to the mouth without anyone the wiser.

So, now that you are sufficiently disgusted and alarmed, you may want to know the best way to pick up poop. You can try this method…

And, there are lots of other cool poop-scooping gadgets and poop accessories…

However, the ole plastic bag over the hand does the job just fine. If you join the legions of patriotic, clean water loving Americans and clean up after your dog you will be just as happy as this fellow!