DAYTON DOG PARK - MY NEW MISSION!

 

So everybody knows I picked up over a million pieces of trash in Akron, Ohio, from 2023 to 2025.  And I moved to Dayton, Tennessee, in January to be close to family.  I went out and picked up trash here as soon as I was settled, and I picked it all up!  There's no more litter to pick up!  But there is DOG POOP!

Dayton has a lovely dog park beside the Swinging Bridge Park.  I've met wonderful people here, but many don't clean up after their dogs.  A week ago, I made a decision to go there every night and clean up all the dog poop and try to educate people.

Dog poop is NOT fertilizer.  It contains 10 times more bacteria than cow manure.  It is full of parasites and massive amounts of bacteria, and if it does get washed away by rain water, it goes into the creeks and lakes, where people are fishing and swimming. Ick!

There is a poop bag dispenser outside the dog park, and it's empty.  It's been empty for a week.  I bring my own bags, but most people don't.

I have cleaned up 74 piles of dog poop in a week.  Why aren't people cleaning up after their animals, even though it's the law?  Laziness, it's inconvenient to bend over and clean it because it's so gross, and selfishness.  They don't care.  So my mission is to do what I can to help people care.

After I left the dog park this morning, I drove to the police station to speak to an officer about this problem.  I was told I needed to go to Parks at the City Hall.  So I drove there.  I was told I needed to go to Maintenance.  So I drove there. The office door was locked.  I looked up the number, and a wonderful woman answered. 

I explained who I am and what I'm doing.  She said they didn't know the dispensers were empty and they would fill them today.  I told her they have been empty for a week.  Then I told her I'm not just here to complain.  I'm here to work.  I will do whatever they want me to do AS A VOLUNTEER.  I will fill the dispensers.  I will empty the trash cans.  I will pick up the dog poop.  But the bigger problem is educating the people who take their dogs to the dog park and let them know it's not okay to walk away.

I don't want people to get fined, but maybe there needs to be a consequence.  In Akron, I think the fine for not cleaning up after your pet is $500.  Here, it's between $50 and $150.  Maybe signs need to be posted that dog poop is hazardous, and there will be fines for not obeying the law.

This dispenser inside the park was also empty. 

When I looked inside the trash cans that are for the poop, I see trash.  Maybe the city needs a big trash can for trash so there's room for poop in these cans.  It's so gross to open the lid and see that it's completely full.

This dog park has a nice stainless steel water fountain that can be cleaned and refilled easily after each dog has a drink.  I wouldn't let my dogs drink out of a dirty water bowl.

As I was leaving the dog park, I noticed a big family putting a picnic together at the pavilion that is right behind the dog park.  I'm pretty sure picnickers would love to see the dog park kept clean.  

And I'm pretty sure when this dog park was built in 2022, the city thought their citizens would keep it nice.  What a wonderful thing it is to have a place where the dogs can play off leash.  I have met so many nice people here.

Watch me work with the Parks Department and the Police Department and fix this horrible problem!