Poop Alley – Updated
10 Tuesday Mar 2015
Written by parry034 in Parry Sound, Reflections, Suggestions
That’s the term I was told is used for portions of the North Shore Rugged Trail. The name is on target and a tad too polite.
One of my favourite places to walk and ski is along the North Shore Rugged Trail, a continuation of the Rotary Algonquin Regiment Fitness Trail as it crosses Salt Dock Road. On pretty much any given afternoon or weekend you will find the parking area full and people on the trail with their dogs off-leash.
That poop on Poop Alley is dog poop. I guess dog owners believe that what you can’t see doesn’t exist. And if you don’t look you certainly can’t see. In the winter it’s easy I suppose to convince yourself “well that’s not a problem it’s covered by snow”. And if the snow is deep enough the poop sort of just ‘sinks’ away out of sight; hot poop on cold snow, like a hot knife through butter. “I’d pick it up but I don’t know where it is.”
Well it’s all coming to the surface now with the melting of snow, and it’s pretty disgusting.
People, pick up the poop when your dog drops it. Or at least ‘flick it’ into the bush where it’s less likely to be seen and unlikely to be walked on. If necessary, ‘dig for it’. I can’t imagine taking a child for a walk along the trail this time of year without worrying about where they might walk.
Owning a dog is a privilege and a responsibility. The trail is not a toilet. It’s hard for the rest of us to enjoy the scenery when we need to keep our eyes pointed down to avoid stepping into ‘it’.
Update: I was asked why there was no photo with this post. People! There are some things you don’t want to see.
No comments
March 10, 2015 at 6:01 pm
Jo..thanks for your observations with respect to the trail. I have walked my dog there many times over the last little while. You are right about the dog poop emerging along the trail and the hazard it potentially holds for spoiling enjoyment of the walk for all of us. We are fortunate to have such an awe inspiring place to enjoy and appreciate the outdoors so close to town. I agree that dog owners have rights and responsibilities. It would be very helpful if all of us picked up what is now being left behind. A receptacle similar to what is available during the Spring/Summer and Fall along the Rotary Trail placed at the entrance to the trail would hopefully encourage owners to clean up after their dogs. I was so stimulated by your perspective that when I walked my dog this afternoon I took along a shovel and threw well over 100 emerging patches of poop as far back into the bush as possible. Unfortunately collecting the material was not an option…I did run into several other dog owners who asked what I was doing and they acknowledged the problem..a small start?
March 10, 2015 at 6:23 pm
Tossing works for me; the bears do you know what in the woods, and in the end it all biodegrades. It’s nice to have it off the trail for all sorts of reasons. If you don’t mind I’ll send the suggestion for a receptacle close to that end of the Rotary Algonquin Fitness Trail to Council. It’s a tricky situation. The property is privately owned and we are in effect trespassing, so it behooves us to take care of the trail and leave as little impact as possible. It’s about respect.
Keep it up and I’ll nominate you for the Order of Parry Sound. Imagine the recommendation – “for tossing poop”.
March 10, 2015 at 6:54 pm
Jo..no problem with passing the suggestion along. I agree that given this is private property the situation is more complicated. Exercising some stewardship on behalf of the owners can only help. My assumption is that in this case the Order of PS would be brown… Ron