***Post created with articles from The City of Arlington to be used as informative for our customers as well as any resident of the great city of Arlington, Texas.***
How to Be a Responsible Pet Owner
When pet waste is left on sidewalks, streets, yards or other open spaces it can be washed into storm drains and deposited into nearby rivers, streams, and lakes polluting our local waterways.
Pet waste decays in the water using up oxygen and releasing ammonia. Low oxygen levels and ammonia combined with warm water temperatures can kill fish and other aquatic life.
Pet waste also contains nutrients that encourage weed and algae growth. Nutrient loaded waters can become cloudy, green and unattractive for swimming, boating, and fishing.
Pet waste also carries bacteria, viruses, and other pathogens which are unsafe for humans, Diseases can include:
• Salmonellosis – most common bacterial infection transmitted from animals to humans causing headaches, fever, muscle aches, vomiting, and diarrhea.
• Campylobacteriosis – bacterial infection causing diarrhea in humans.
• Toxocarisis – roundworms transmitted from animal to humans causing fever, rash, vision loss, and cough.
These diseases affect adults and children recreating near or in water; it also affect adults working in their yards and gardens and children playing outside. When we at Handsome Lawn Service step in pet waste, we track this onto your pool decking, sidewalks, and back into our work trucks. This puts us at risk of the diseases above as we carry this on to our families. Additionally, when we mow or put our equipment on a yard with a mass amount of pet waste, we bring that pet waste back into our trailer and into other clients yards. Of course, the smell is nauseating, but more importantly it’s just plain nasty and can hurt other residents of the city of Arlington, Texas. Please muck your yard before our arrival on or before your scheduled lawn maintenance day. Be a responsible pet owner and do unto others. Please pick up after your pet. Nothing can ruin a day faster than hitting a fresh pile of dog poop with your weed eater and flinging it onto your face. It sounds funny until you’re the one with the poo on your face.
Doo the right thing!
• Pick up pet waste from your yard. It’s not fertilizer! Bacteria and other pathogens are dangerous to children playing in the yard and can contaminate vegetables growing in your garden.
• Carry disposable bags while walking your dog to pick up and dispose of the waste in the trash. Leaving pet waste on the ground is not only bad manners it can get washed into our local waterways through the storm drain system.
• Never dispose of cat or dog waste in your composting bin. Composting will not generate enough heat to kill pathogens and bacteria from pet waste.
• Tell friends and neighbors about the harmful effects of pet waste and encourage them to clean up after their pets.
Learn more by visiting the Environmental Education page for the City of Arlington, Texas.
Did you know?
It is a violation of the City of Arlington’s Code of Ordinance to leave your pet’s waste on public property or private property (not your own).
The Fertilizer Myth
Contrary to popular belief, carnivorous animals, such as dogs, do not produce useable manure-fertilizer for plants. Beneficial manure-fertilizer comes from herbivores like horses and cows. These animals consume vegetation and return unused waste back to the soil to be taken up by plants.
FAQs
Q: Why doesn’t the sewage treatment plant clean this water before it reaches the waterway?
A: Sewage treatment plants only process wastewater from indoor plumbing. These plants do not treat rainwater.
Q: Other animals such as squirrels, rabbits, and birds already “use our facilities” outdoors. Why should I worry about my pet?
A: The waste from the number of pets in Arlington cannot be adequately or naturally absorbed into the environment.
Q: Should I pick up pet waste in my own yard?
A: YES, absolutely!!! During a rain storm, this waste can be washed out of your yard, down a street and find its way into the storm sewer system. In addition, when waste us not removed, it leaves large quantities of nutrients that can burn out grasses by overfeeding them, creating a spotty looking yard. Pet waste can also attract rats–reason enough to keep your yard cleared!
Cute Photo credit: Pets Principle
Muck
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dirt, rubbish, or waste matter.“I’ll just clean the muck off the windshield”
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BRITISHremove manure and other dirt from a horse’s stable or other animal’s dwelling.“I was mucking out some of the dirtiest piggeries I had ever seen”
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DIALECT•BRITISHspread manure on (land).“half the farm is mucked every year”
