MEDICINE HAT, AB – When you’re out and about enjoying the walking paths and trails in Medicine Hat, one thing you don’t want to run into or step on, is dog poop.
This is a problem that some Hatters feel has become more of an issue over the years.
Ryan Mitchell is the president of the Gas City Canine Cruisers and he believes the situation is getting out of control.
“People aren’t picking up after their dogs,” explained Mitchell. “As a responsible dog owner and there’s lots of us out there, we’re tired of getting in trouble and getting yelled at by people just because we have a dog.”
As the owner of 4 on The Floor Pet Sitting and More, Mitchell says he probably spends more time on the walking paths than anyone else in town.
“I walk a dozen dogs on a daily basis and I pick up after them. I’ve actually started getting yelled at just because I’m walking dogs and I don’t think that’s right. Just because I have a dog, doesn’t mean I’m irresponsible.”
He believes something needs to be done by the bylaw officers here in Medicine Hat.
“There is bylaws and they have been put in place for quite some time now, but as an avid dog walker personally and professionally, you never see bylaw in the walking areas. If there’s no presence, there’s no reason to even be thinking about picking it up. It’s irresponsible and some people just don’t care.”
Supervisor of Municipal Enforcement, Heather Trail, says she is certainly aware of the growing issue throughout the City.
“What we really hope, pray and depend on, is people taking responsibility for themselves,” explained Trail. “I know that isn’t necessarily happening, so we’re asking people to report what they’ve seen.”
She says this issue is extremely difficult to police.
“If we’re there, suddenly everyone’s picking up their poop and a lot of people said ‘you know, why don’t you put people out there that are undercover or in plain clothes?’ As much as we would love to do that, it just isn’t reasonable and actually, there’s a lot of people that would be offended to see us peaking through the bushes spying on them.”
Trail believes diverting resources to path-watching wouldn’t be feasible.
“I mean, do we really need to put a bylaw officer out to babysit whether people clean up after their pets? Generally, I have enough trust in this community that everyone knows better.”
Trail says there really is no reason for people not to be picking up after their pets.
“The City does a really good job at supplying bags and whenever there’s a place that’s empty or the garbage is full, it’s a simple matter of reporting and that’ll be taken care of. All of our pet stores also carry a ton of options as well.”
Failing to pick up your animals poop can cost you $350.
You can also be fined $100 for not carrying bags with you on your walk.
“It’s a little tricky to figure out the intent of why they don’t. Some people have so much as used their sock to clean up dog feces in a desperate move.”
In addition to fines, there are health complications that can impact not only your pets, but humans as well.
“We worry about external parasites and internal parasites,” explained Dr. Layne Manson of the Crossroads Animal Hospital. “Internal being the bigger concern. The two most common would be round worms or tape worms and definitely poop that’s left outside can allow for round worms to develop. Usually, if you pick up the poop immediately, it’s not considered infectious.”
And if being yelled at wasn’t enough, that’s another concern of Mitchell’s.
“I would hope all dog owners would understand that this is the kind of thing that can’t just get your dog sick, it can get your kids sick and it can get you sick. I don’t want my dog getting sick and I hope you would feel the same way about your dog. If you love your dog, pick it up.”
Mitchell says this entire situation has made him feel nothing but disappointment with some dog owners in Medicine Hat.
“I just hope to get the message out there. Poop is serious business and there’s a lot of it in Medicine Hat.”
Trail simply hopes people will just do the right thing.
“This is about being respectful of one another. If you really want to encourage picking up, even though it’s not yours, just pick up what’s next to you and do the best that we can,” she said. “I think if there’s more attitude and more on solving the issue rather than enforcing things, maybe it wouldn’t be so bad.”
Mitchell doesn’t believe that’s a legitimate solution though.
“At the very least it would be nice to see some patrols,” he said. “You know, see bylaw throughout the area. We understand that it’s going to be hard to enforce, but if there’s any kind of deterrent, it’ll help.”
Trail then offered a solution that could benefit both sides of the conversation.
“We have a parks and trail ambassador program,” she explained. “We actually have people that are regularly on the trails. They’re not there to do enforcement. They’re only there to kind of model the way, make suggestions and let us know if there are any major concerns in certain areas and we can act upon that.”
If you would like to join the parks and trail ambassador program, Trail says you can give her a call at 403-529-8436.
“We’re hoping to kind of revamp our group of volunteers towards the beginning of May and I’m always looking for extra help. I would take as many as I can, but I have about 6 that are active right now. As you can tell though, we could use more because we have miles and miles of trails to cover.”
