What do I do about poo?

[phillylawyer]

In the past few weeks, I've noticed that there's been a lot of dog poop on the sidewalk near my house, especially on Tasker between Juniper and 12th. I haven't seen any strays wandering the neighborhood. This is a recent development; I first took notice of the poop about three weeks ago.

I've resigned myself to the fact that litter on the sidewalk is a fact of life in South Philly. I have a dog and he points out the litter because he wants to eat all of it; I've pulled candy wrappers, used napkins, pretzels, cigarette butts, slices of pizza, foam ear plugs, and band aids out of his mouth. And while I've resigned myself to the litter, I draw the line at poop. I fear that I'll be dodging turds for the next ten years if this poop bandit isn't stopped. Maybe there's a point where you step in so much dog crap that you snap and move to Cherry Hill -- I don't want to find out where that point is.

Does anyone have any recommendations on how to deal with this? I was thinking about posting signs, maybe something to the effect that when I see who's doing it, I'll collect the turd and drop it into the offender's mail box. But that doesn't seem like a good option after that guy in the Northeast was murdered. So, now I'm out of ideas.

And on a related topic: someone dropped a trash bag full of kitty litter (used, including kitty turds) all over the street in front of my house, then somehow the bag got dragged all over the street so that there's this big streak of sand and dried up cat turds in front of the house. The bag/streak/turds weren't there before I went to work on trash day; they were there when I got home, so maybe the trash collectors had something to do with it? Who can I call to clean that up, if anyone? The Streets department? It's supposed to rain today, so hopefully it'll just wash into the sewer system.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I don't want to live in a crappy neighborhood.

[tsarstruck]

I think some of the civics are looking to re-use signs, and possibly tactics, of an Old City group detailed here: UPDATED: Old City Scoop The Poop campaign gets city blessing for pilot program, chooses new mascot | PlanPhilly: Planning Philadelphia's Future.

I can't imagine you're going to get any relief from the city on cleaning up the streets. I mean this in the nicest way, but suck it up and clean it up yourself. Unfair, but that's life. Allowing it to be washed into the gutters and then out into the Delaware is a crappy solution.

[PBSusan]

"crappy solution"
that made me laugh.

[mellow yellow]

This is going to sound insane but if i am picking up my dogs turd and there is an old turd there too Ill pick it up. Every bit helps. Some people just won't pick up dog ****.

[Philly507]

I've delt with both issues;

You could hang signs on the street poles at the top of your block, and make your neighbors aware...the more people on board with stopping the issue, the better chance that someone will see who it is.

As for the litter, I just sweep it up. I'm persistent with keeping my whole block clean, and its caught on with s few of the neighbors now. The quicker you clean it up the better.

[phillylawyer]

This is going to sound insane but if i am picking up my dogs turd and there is an old turd there too Ill pick it up. Every bit helps. Some people just won't pick up dog ****.

That does sound insane. I'm not running a dog sh!t welfare program for people who got a dog but who just won't pick up dog ****.

I recognize that every bit helps. But if I start consistently picking up after someone else, I'll be stuck holding the crap bag indefinitely. It's not a cure to the underlying problem -- it's just treating and potentially prolonging the symptoms.

[Eastcoast]

It's not a cure to the underlying problem --

There is no cure for the underlying problem, unless...you're Batman!

Other than that post some signs, personally shame the offenders who are unarmed and keep the streets clean.

That's all you can do until you move to NJ.

[Lolly]

You could try something that I have been contemplating doing for a while in the local pocket park near my house, where way too many folks treat it as their own personal dog park/toilet... That is, I want to install a video surveillance camera, and post signs saying the park is under constant video surveillance. I would then print out and post still pictures of any culprits found caught in the act for public humiliation.

The logistics are a little tricky for the park, since it's out of sight and we'd need a reasonably secure place to mount the camera and post the signs/pics. But if that were happening in front of my house that's definitely what I would do. Maybe you could even post the sign/pics in your front window...

[Marvel]

This is going to sound insane but if i am picking up my dogs turd and there is an old turd there too Ill pick it up. Every bit helps. Some people just won't pick up dog ****.

I do the same thing. And furthermore I wish that everyone who walks their dog would carry an extra plastic bag and fill it with litter - then throw it in the same trashbin they throw their dog **** bag in. I hate trash on the street - it depresses the hell out of me. I'd rather do a little extra and hope that if the streets are cleaner then people will be less likely to throw their garbage on the ground.* Change has gotta start somewhere...

* The Broken Windows Theory:
Consider a building with a few broken windows. If the windows are not repaired, the tendency is for vandals to break a few more windows. Eventually, they may even break into the building, and if it's unoccupied, perhaps become squatters or light fires inside. Or consider a sidewalk. Some litter accumulates. Soon, more litter accumulates. Eventually, people even start leaving bags of trash from take-out restaurants there or breaking into cars.
Broken windows theory - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[lighterthief]

Police ID Suspect In Deadly Tacony Shooting Over Dog Waste « CBS Philly
apparently nothing