I have been walking the Soapstone Valley Trail from the dead end of Audubon Terrace to Broad Branch for years. But I’ve never seen dog poop along the way. That is, until last Saturday, when I discovered not one, but two mounds of dog poop on the trail.
Not the prettiest sight. Less so, when you consider what it does to our water. Dog waste releases pathogens into our freshwater supply – that can end up in our drinking water.
Another issue is the people who allow their dogs to run around off-leash in the park, something I often see. One darned good reason for this rule is so that dog owners pick up after their dogs. We don’t want their waste ending up in our streams and polluting our rivers.
So please, leash and clean up after your dog, whether in the park or on our sidewalks.
marchesa says
Thank you for explaining the importance of picking up your dog’s poop and throwing it in a trashcan to the environmental health of the ravine. Soapstone is our neighborhood forest–not a garbage dump.
Kate says
Is there an update of the E. coli found in Soapstone last July? Has it been determined whether it was due to human waste or animal waste? Two months should be enough time to figure that out. Thanks for your reminder about scooping up dog poop. At least we can keep that out of our creek.