You may have seen those “Pick Up Poop,” signs around town on people’s lawns, reminding dog owners to not leave behind any reminders of their pooch for others to step in. The Cuyahoga Soil & Water Conservation District is escalating the effort to keep lawns and sidewalks clear of dog droppings with its “Crappiest Dog Photo Contest,” which will run all summer from Memorial Day through Labor Day.
“There are over 90,000 registered dogs in Cuyahoga County,” they inform us. “A dog poops twice a day (on average). That is 45 tons of doggie droppings a day! When rain and snow melt, it washes the poop and bacteria into our waterways polluting our rivers, streams, and Lake Erie.”
Let’s stop that! To enter, participants must take a pledge to pick up after their dog and properly dispose of its waste, then provide a couple of sentences and a photo of their dog’s “weird poop behaviors.” For example: “they lock eyes with their human, they spin around, they bunny kick, etc.”
Everyone who enters will get a dog bandana that says, “This is a nudge to clean up my fudge.” In September, CSWCD staff will pick winners for a dog photo shoot, local pet photographer Greg Murray’s book Pit Bull Heroes, and other prizes.
To get more information and enter go to www.cuyahogaswcd,org and click on “Crappiest Dog Photo Contest.”