Pick up your dog’s poop!
That’s the message District 4 Supervisor Katy Tang is sending to dog owners and future dog owners who may want to adopt a dog through one of The City’s animal shelters.
Tang, along with the San Francisco Animal Care and Control and the SPCA, announced the launch of a new program last Friday where every dog adoption from either shelter will include free dog waste bags and a bag dispenser. The announcement was made at the Sunset Pet Supply store on Noregia Street between 45th and 46th avenues.
The program called the Pet Owner Outreach Program, appropriately called POOP, aims to inform those adopting dogs about the current laws in The City on picking up your dog’s poop, and providing free tools to do so.
Tang said in a statement:
“I am sure that many of us have stepped into dog waste accidentally and found ourselves frustrated by the poopetrators.”
While The City has a law requiring dog owners to pick up their dog’s poop under section 40 in the public health code, thanks to former Supervisor Harvey Milk, Tang said:
“Even with existing laws on the books, I still hear complaints from residents that pet guardians are not being held responsible and the law is not being enforced. Let’s all do our ‘doody’ and pick up after our dogs!”
Virginia Donohue, director of Animal Care and Control, sent this message out to San Francisco dog owners:
“Stop, stoop and scoop up that poop – your fellow San Franciscans will thank you for it.”
Both Animal Care and Control and the SPCA are holding a contest through the end of May for dog owners can post a picture of themselves picking up their dog’s business and posting to their social media accounts using the hashtag #notapoopetrator.
Jerold Chinn is the San Francisco Bureau Chief of SFBay. He covers transportation and City Hall. He has spent over a decade covering transportation in San Francisco. Jerold is a native in the city and frequently takes public transit everywhere he goes. Email tips to [email protected]