Dog poop is part of being a dog owner. It can’t be avoided.

I enjoy taking long walks with my Golden Retriever, Sugar. Our walks are often interrupted when we encounter dog poop. As I am a responsible dog owner, it bothers me when I see un-scooped dog poop on the ground. It is also mind boggling why a dog owner would just leave it.

As a dog blogger, I wanted to say something. That’s when the Scoop That Poop campaign came to my mind. Through education and creating awareness, the intention of Scoop That Poop is to make a positive change in the world.

Sure, dog poop is unsightly, but why exactly should a dog owner scoop their dog’s poop? There are many reasons, but these are five of the most important:

• Dog poop is toxic. The Environmental Protection Agency has classified pet waste as a pollutant. Contrary to what you might think, dog poop is not fertilizer. It is toxic and will burn grass, causing discolorations.
• Some dog poop can be unhealthy, containing harmful organisms such as E. coli and parasitic worms.
• Rain washes dog poop into rivers, lakes, streams, and drains to the ocean, polluting the water. This makes drinking water unsafe, and swimming unpleasant and dangerous.
• It is a health hazard for other pets as well as humans.
• It is the duty and responsibility of every dog owner to scoop their dog’s poop — it’s part of what you signed up for!

Scoop That Poop is an ongoing campaign. Currently, Scoop That Poop is set up as a monthly “blog hop” wherein a group of dog and pet bloggers band together to create their own posts concerning dog waste. The blogger participants hop from blog to blog, encouraging their audiences to read each other’s posts. The purpose of the blog hop is to promote responsible dog ownership and the importance of scooping up dog poop, while using the power of the Internet to spread the message far and wide.

I invite everyone to join the Scoop That Poop campaign. First and foremost, do your duty as a dog owner and scoop your dog’s poop, acting as a model of responsibility for others. Then join Sugar and myself for our Scoop That Poop blog hop Monday, September 23, when we’ll be using the hashtag #ScoopThatPoop across all social media networks to help raise awareness. We’ve also created this infographic to share on blogs and social media.

About Rosalyn Acero: Rosalyn is the creator of the blog Golden Woofs. She shares the life and adventures of her Golden Retriever dog, Sugar. Rosalyn is the author of Sugar’s Furry Friend, a children’s book based on Sugar’s friendship with a chipmunk.

Read more on dog poop:

• Why Is This Little Girl Eating Dog Poop on This Billboard?
• 5 Things You Didn’t Know About Dog Poop
• I Scoop Dog Poop for a Living
• Now Here’s an Idea: A Spanish Town Mails Dog Poop Back to People
• Spain’s Hilarious Plan to Keep Dog Poop Out of Parks
• Dog-Poop DNA Tests That Catch Scofflaws
• A Japanese Town Considering a Dog Poop Tax