I thoroughly enjoyed my many walks with my dog, Tatsu during our recent winter thaw, aside from one messy detail:  dog doo.  As the snow melted away, it revealed a landscape dotted with squishy piles in a palette of brown along many of our favorite walking routes.

I’ll admit, it can be harder to pick up doggy-do out of a snow bank, and it may seem tempting to just kick a cover of snow over the offending pile.  While this practice may hide the problem, it far from solves it.  The cold weather actually just preserves the problem for a later date when someone still needs to pick it up—or clean it out of their shoes.

 Often, when non-dog lovers see such an orphaned pile of poop, it’s all of us “dog people” who get the blame.  I’m so eager for Arlington dogs to hang onto their new-found off-leash freedom that during the thaw, I spent a fair amount of time pondering poo-pickup as I used my extra bags to collect an “orphan” here and there.

 It was about that time that I just happened to come across a “Pet Waste Etiquette” pamphlet from the Town of Lexington, which explains, that “pet waste does not go away by fertilizing the grass.  Bacteria are washed down the drain and into ditches.”  The pamphlet outlines methods and reasons for cleaning up pet waste both while out for a walk outside of your own personal property as well as in your own yard.

 Among the reasons for cleaning up properly, even in your own yard, is watershed protection.  The pamphlet defines watershed as, “an area of land that drains runoff from storms to a common point, such as a pond or a stream.”  The bottom line, according to this document, is that contaminants including pet waste, “degrade the water quality and can affect our health.”

 I think all of us dog owners know the approved of ways to clean up pet waste while out on a walk, but I was a little surprised by a couple of the suggestions the Town of Lexington made: 

“Seal securely in a bag and place bag in the trash,” was familiar advice.  But I hadn’t heard anyone else recommend these two ideas:  “Flush it down the toilet so it can be treated in the treatment plant,” or “…bury un-bagged pet waste in the yard at least six inches in the ground, away from vegetable gardens and waterways.”

 That’s when I remembered hearing about a company that actually offers pet-waste removal services.  I decided to get in touch with our local DoodyCalls specialist, Jack Sheehy.  Certainly he’d be able to shed some light on this dark and smelly topic.

Sheehy did agree with flushing dog poop down the toilet under the right circumstances. 

“I’m a proponent of that if there’s not a lot of debris with it and you’re not flushing it down to a septic tank," he said. "City waste water plants can handle a little debris.” 

Still, I don’t think I’ll be utilizing that option at my current home, which seems to have a delicate plumbing system.

 I mentioned that the Pet Waste Etiquette pamphlet implored people to place pet waste in trash bins when out on a walk, emphasizing, “Do NOT place in storm drains.” 

Sheehy elaborated: “Throwing waste in a storm sewer is the worst thing you can do. That water is discharged to our rivers, lakes and oceans untreated.” 

For what it’s worth, I’ve never actually seen anyone do this outside of New York City.

Perhaps some yards in Lexington are large enough to accommodate the burying of pet waste as recommended in Lexington’s Pet Waste Etiquette pamphlet, but that may not be as useful a suggestion for Arlington dog owners. 

“I’ve never known anyone to bury their dog’s waste.  Most people in Arlington don’t have large yards to begin with,” Sheehy commented, “ and dog waste is very acidic. If you’re going to bury the waste, I would cover it with lime to sweeten the soil.”

 Another surprise I got as I did my research for this Weekly Yip was just how affordable a DoodyCalls visit could be!  I had assumed the fee for such an odious task would be much higher. A typical DoodyCalls cleaning for one large dog is $16.50/week.

"We walk the yard, bag the waste and take it away," Sheehy explained. "We place our waste in a dumpster where it is taken for incineration. We provide service on whatever schedule fits a customer’s budget.” 

Also available are gift certificates.  For more information about their services, call 1-800-doodycalls (366-3922) or visit www.DoodyCalls.com.

 With all of my research for this Weekly Yip inspired by just a one-week winter thaw, I hope Arlington dog owners will heed the advice, “clean as you go.”I hope that we can all enjoy a fresher spring and continued support from our town for our new off-leash dogs program.