As you’re well aware, pet waste can cause odors, flies and can damage your landscape. Most recently, the Environmental Protective Agency (EPA) has shown that pet waste is a significant contributor to bacterial contamination in our ocean water after a storm. Storm water carries litter, pet waste and other pollutants directly into the ocean as it does not receive any treatment prior to discharging into the ocean.
http://cfpub.epa.gov/npdes/stormwater/menuofbmps/poll_3.cfm

Pet feces must be handled carefully due to diseases and parasites. Parasites from pet waste can live in the ground for up to a year, be difficult to kill and cause severe harm to human and pet health. Minimizing that risk will help protect your surrounding environment.

http://www.poopmasters.com/parasites.htm

Some benefits of having a pet waste clean-up service:
• Helps protect your environment
• Minimizes odors and flies
• Prevents lawn damage
• Increases property value

The problem with dog waste management in our cities is reflected in the Pooper Scooper Laws, both in the U.S. and abroad, which impose considerable fines upon dog owners who do not pick up after their dogs. The best way to prevent diseases and the many bacterial infections dogs can acquire from stools is to remove feces at least once a week, keep current on your dog's vaccinations, fecal examinations and deworming. Also, pick up waste before rain can break up or scatter the feces and allow the worms or germs to spread into the environment.

Why not just let the dog waste sit there and degrade? Aside from the fact that if you have small children sharing the yard, dog poop is a health hazard. Left alone it can gather maggots, flies, pass parasites to other animals, which in turn pass them back to your dog, and possibly us humans as well.

Unpleasant as it may be, there is some advantage in picking up after your pet as it serves as a valuable health monitor. If your pet defecates out of your line of sight on a regular basis, cleaning up the waste may be the only time you become aware of a health problem.

Stool that is off-color, contains blood or mucus or has turned to diarrhea is a reason to contact your veterinarian. The smell alone is also a good incentive to pick it up, as well as irate neighbors (who complain of the smell). Picking up dog poop is also the best solution if you have a dog who likes to snack on "poop-sicles" (coprophagy).

Keeping the yard clean keeps your dog cleaner, since the dog won't be stepping or playing in the mess on relief trips outside. A clean yard also gives your dog more exercise space.

How serious a problem is pet waste?
• Decayed pet waste seeps into the ground, sending E. coli, a bacteria that lives in the intestines of warm-blooded animals, and potential pathogens into the ground water and eventually waterways.
• Rainwater run-off may wash contaminated pet waste into storm sewers and from there into lakes, rivers and streams.

What is the problem?
• The current No. 1 water pollution problem comes from non point source pollution.
• Non point source pollution means the pollutants come from several sources instead of one discharge point.
• Non point pollution occurs away from waterways; so many people do not realize they are contributing to water pollution.
• Pet owners do not pick up and properly dispose of their pets’ waste.
• Cars leak fluids such as oil or antifreeze on the pavement.
• Property owners do not follow directions and put too much fertilizer on their lawns.
• People wash their cars in their driveways or on the streets.
• The rainwater will wash the pollutants into storm sewers.
• The pollution will be carried – untreated – to the nearest body of water.

What can I do?
• Scoop up pet waste at least once a week.
• Flush the waste – as long as it isn’t mixed in with litter or other material – so that it is properly treated before it is disposed of.
• If local law allows, contain the waste in a plastic bag and toss it in your trash.
• If your community does not regulate the disposal of pet waste, encourage your town board, city council or county government to enact new laws.
• If your local parks do not provide pet waste stations, encourage them to do so.

Children often put their hands in their mouths, providing an easy route for bacteria to travel into their bodies. For example, children who eat dirt are more susceptible to contracting zoonotic diseases. Children also are more susceptible to pet-borne illness because they carry fewer antibodies than adults do. The same holds true for puppies and kittens.

Parvovirus (Parvoviral Enteritis or “Parvo,” for short) is highly contagious virus that can remain infectious in the ground. It causes severe infection in puppies and dogs. It invades and destroys rapidly growing cells in the intestine, bone marrow and lymphoid tissue resulting in nausea, vomiting and severe hemorrhagic (bloody) diarrhea. The ground can be contaminated with fecal material for five months or more if conditions are favorable. It is extremely hardy virus it can withstand wide temperature fluctuations and most cleaning agents. Parvo can be brought home to your dog on shoes, hands and even car tires.

Professional Pooper Scooper Service
The Association of Professional Animal Waste Specialists (aPaws), a trade organization of professional pooper scooper's, is reminding everyone that National Scoop the Poop Week is April 24 – April 30, 2004.

Responsible dog owners have a choice for disposing of their pet’s waste. They can scoop after their pets, or they can hire a professional pooper scooper to come into their yard to do it for them.

aPaws has a Directory of professional pooper scooper's on its Website, http://apaws.org Pooper scooper's on the Find-A-Scooper Directory agree that they will follow a Code of Conduct, whereby they must have liability insurance for their company. They also agree to disinfect tools and boots after every yard.

Ten Reason To Hire A Pooper Scooper
1. Storm water carries pet waste and other pollutants directly into waterways.
2. Animal waste adds nitrogen to the water. Excess nitrogen depletes the water's oxygen, which is necessary for healthy underwater grasses, wildlife and fish.
3. Animal waste may contain harmful organisms such as Giardia, Salmonella and E. coli that can be transmitted to humans and other animals by ingesting contaminated water.
4. Hookworms and Roundworms deposited by infected animals can live in the soil for a long time and be transmitted to other animals and humans.
5. It's the law! Many urban and suburban areas require you to pick up after your pet. Even if there is no restriction, cleaning up after your pet is the right thing to do.
6. Those with physical limitations; which make it difficult or impossible to clean-up after their dog.
7. Let's face it - no one likes to step in pet waste and spread it into homes, cars and businesses.
8. Hiring a pooper scooper service save you time and the headache of arguing about who in the family is going to clean it up.
9. Apartment and Town Home Communities that are looking for a solution to their dog waste problem.
10. Your neighbors will appreciate the good manners!

Source - Association of Professional Animal Waste Specialists

Poop Masters provides a weekly dog waste clean up service that will help protect against disease-causing parasites like hookworm and roundworm, as well as other bacterial organisms that could cause serious illness. We use institutional strength parasite-killing disinfectants, fungicides, cleaners and deodorizers that will not harm your pets or your landscape.

For just $9.50* a week you can have a poop free yard so you can enjoy a family barbecue without having to tip-toe around the yard.

Call us (888) 420-7808 or go online at http://www.poopmasters.com

$9.50* Applies to customer with one dog in a standard size yard only. Additional charges will apply for more dogs. Also, does not apply to one time clean-ups or commercial accounts.