Spring Snowmelt, and Brown Spots, in Woodbury

The city of Woodbury is reminding residents this spring there are some definite don’ts when it comes to dog doo-doo.

In its spring newsletter, the city prompted citizens to be courteous to their neighbors and city staff by picking up after their dogs if the canines leave a little something behind on roads, trails or other areas during romps around town.

Woodbury Parks and Recreations Director Bob Klatt said as the snow melts and certain brown mounds become more visible, the complaint calls to the parks and recreation department steadily increase.

“We tend to get a lot of calls in the springtime,” he said.

Klatt said residents remembering to pick up after their pooches is more than just common courtesy—it’s the law.

“We have an ordinance in place, but enforcement is difficult,” he said.

Julie Lehr, Woodbury communications coordinator, noted, "The city has limited resources and manpower, and you choose what you fix your time on.”

Woodbury police officers and the city’s lone code enforcement officer can cite residents if they see them “out in the open not attending to their dogs,” Klatt said, but spotting dog owners neglecting their duty to pick up some doody doesn’t happen too often.

However, Klatt said officers do occasionally cite dog owners on a complaint-driven basis, such as when neighbors irked by dog dropping on their property call the city to point out the offenders.

Health concerns

Dr. Kate An Hunter, veterinarian at Carver Lake Veterinary Center in Woodbury, told city officials that piles of poop in yards, parks and paths around the city are not only unsightly, there’s a health risk associated with leaving behind the remnants from dog’s behinds.

“As a pet owner myself, I don’t want my dog to pick up intestinal parasites from another dog,” Hunter said in the newsletter. “That’s the main health concern with pet feces, and some viral diseases also can be spread dog to dog through the feces. It is also a public health concern; young children can sometimes be infected with diseases they pick up from pet feces while playing on the ground.”

 Making sanitation simple

Klatt said in numerous areas of the city, such as some park walking paths and the city’s off-leash dog park off Dale Road, the city makes it easy for residents to pick up after their dogs by posting stations with plastic bags that make cleaning up as easy and sanitary as possible.

Lehr, a dog owner herself, said most people are courteous and make use of the stations. She stressed that the majority of Woodbury residents follow the rules when it comes to cleaning up after their dogs, and those who keep the city’s ordinance in mind should politely remind violators of it if they see their dogs relieving themselves on city roads, paths or the yards of private homes.

“I have a dog, and when I take it out for walks, I pick up after it,” she said. “If you walk your dog down the street and it leaves something behind, you’re expected to pick it up.”

Information regarding city’s dog dropping cleanup code also is available via the city’s website. Click here for details.