Huber Ridge Area

hello, I am trying to help my husband, Mike on the dog waste in Discussions topic, he is having trouble with the website. 

He is asking for the information to remind the neighbors to pick up themselves, since he does not have a large dog like German Shep, Chow, Labs, go on. 

Can you let us know how can we do?

Dear Neighbor,

One of our past issues of the Herald explains the need to pick up dog waste: Vol. 3, No. 2, Spring 2008.  It is 2011, and some of the suggestions in the article are coming to fruition, e.g., our Ridgewood Park will soon have bag dispensers.  You may want to read the article to learn more about the pooper scooper laws.  If your problem is dog feces in your yard from another dog, enforcement is difficult.  If it is dog feces in a neighbor's yard from that neighbor's dog, then contact Bryan Rhoads, Director of Development Code Enforcement (614) 302-8248 and he can deal properly with the matter.  In 2008, we did not have Bryan Rhoads or any township code enforcement.  We are making progress as a community.

The best progress we can make is education, community pride, and cooperation.

But in a nutshell, yes, all should carry waste bags and pick up dog waste not only while walking dogs, but also in their own yards for a number of reasons.

One, health reasons - dog waste attracts flies and other bacteria carrying insects that can spread disease.

Two, picking it up is just being considerate of your neighbors and the community.  It demonstrates respect of both.  Dog wast is offensive to smell and unpleasant to step on.  Dog waste will suffocate grass.

A third reason is that rats are attracted to and will eat dog waste.  Rats = problems.

I hope all will take pride in the community and their own properties and will pick up dog waste.

Warm Regards,

Pam Clegg, neighbor

Hi neighbor. I know how you feel. It's just plain rude and inconsiderate to not clean up after your dog, whether it's your own yard or not. The stench is offensive! If you're on a walk and forgot a bag, go back home and get one!

We keep our yard cleaned up for the reasons Bambi listed in her post, as well as preventing pollution. The run-off flows into the storm sewers, which runs into the waterways.

And, as Bambi also said, we are going to be installing a pet waste station at Ridgewood Park during our cleanup day, April 23, to help with the problem we have there. Kids play there! The run-off flows directly into Spring Run! We're hoping that people who walk their dogs, and have forgotten to bring their own bag, will be conscientious enough to grab one and use it, and then put it in the receptacle.

I hope your husband is able to find a way to curb the problem in your neighborhood. Don't feel you have to confront anyone about it, just call Officer Rhoads. That way, if anyone is offended, they can be offended by someone who can do something about it!

Lori