Editor:
Re: Dog owners leave remnants behind, Jan. 12 letters.
I read the comments of letter-writer Emile Fuchs.
The accompanying picture of the two garbage bins is definitely unsightly, I agree.
Better to have them overflowing than have some people just throw stuff away somewhere else which, to me, is disgusting.
Perhaps the City of Surrey should empty these bins more often. If people are going to use them as often as they do, then the city should be pleased and either empty them more often or add a couple more.
I agree that pets should be leashed when on a leash—only sports field. Hard to clean up after your dog when they are 100 metres away and decide to do a dump. Not much fun for you when you step in dog poop where you least expect it.
Don Horn, Surrey
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In response to this photo published of public garbage bins overflowing with dog poop bags, letter-writer Emile Fuchs, from Surrey writes: “It appears certain dog owners are not aware of the concept of full.”
Two things immediately pop into my mind. First, what a great dog owner population that responsibly clean up after their dogs! Perhaps the city could empty the trash bins more often– like when they are full?
Second, clearly there are enough dog owners out there who are taxpayers and should have more places to be able to let their dogs run around, chase balls and play. In Vancouver, there are parks that serve as both people and dogs parks; there are even hours posted of when dogs are allowed in those parks. Why can’t we have those?
Non-dog-owners need to grant some more freedom to responsible and respectful dog owners. I don’t think there is a reasonable amount of off-leash areas to run our dogs in this area.
Charlotte Gentis, White Rock
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Thanks to Emile for his letter.
There are dog feces everywhere in the Semiahmoo area. While some do pick up, it’s dismaying they don’t dispose of it in a proper dog-feces composter.
Instead, people put it in a public waste bin where it ends up in the land fill. There it mixes with other waste and cannot decompose properly and releases massive amounts of methane.
Methane is 20 times more damaging to the atmosphere than carbon dioxide and is a major contributor to global warming. It isn’t a stretch to state that improperly disposing of dog feces is a major contributor to climate change, especially when the solution is so simple.
Dog food is unnatural and highly processed; as a result dog feces is very high in nitrogen. If left in the environment where your pooch left the disgusting turd, it will run off into creeks and rivers where the nitrogen will deplete the water of oxygen, killing fish and aquatic life.
The poo of your best friend must be treated as a toxic mess. Take it home and compost it properly, or don’t own a dog.
Adrian Brown, Surrey