Neighbor Near Laurelhurst Elementary Urges Dog Owners To Pick Up After Them

We received this email from a reader urging dog owners to pick up after their dogs:

I am tired of dodging dog poo every morning and afternoon on my way to and from Laurelhurst ElementarySchool.The dog poop appears all over the sidewalk several times a week, usually on both sides of  NE 50th Street and 46th Avenue NE.  So I know it’s a regular neighborhood resident and a big dog, judging from the amount of waste.

This intersection is on the way to both Villa Academy and Laurelhurst Elementary School, so there is a lot of foot traffic and it’s often tracked even further by unsuspecting soles.

 I believe it is a dog owner’s legal responsibility to pick up after their dogs. Dog feces are a public health hazard due to the parasites and germs that they can spread.

It’s bad enough that our kids step in it while playing on fields at parks, but when they have to dodge it on the sidewalks on the way to and from school.

I am pretty certain it’s a small percentage of owners who are at fault and in our case, possibly even the same dog, given that the poo is always on the sidewalk on the east side of 47th Avenue NE and NE 50th Street intersection.

In the case of the owner(s) allowing their dogs to leave waste all over the sidewalk, it is  irresponsible and inconsiderate.

Here is a related list of City Municpal Codes and corresponding violations with fine amouts imposed by the City of Seattle:

Offenses Related to Safety and Sanitation
$109 Allowing accumulation of fecesSMC 9.25.082 (A)
$54 Not removing feces from another’s propertySMC 9.25.082 (B)
$54 Not having equipment to remove fecesSMC 9.25.082 (C)

Here is a similar post published last year.