EDMONDS – Picking up doggie doo isn’t anyone’s idea of a picnic.
That’s one reason why there are no city-provided receptacles on the sandy area of the Edmonds off-leash dog beach.
Dog owner Dan Kerege of Edmonds has been trying for some time to no avail to get the city to put a can on the beach itself.
“It’s a public health issue,” Kerege said.
City parks director Arvilla Ohlde says it’s also an issue of choosing not to make her parks employees carry heavy bags of dog waste from a park that volunteers originally agreed to police themselves.
“That’s over and beyond what we do,” she said. A receptacle is provided at the park’s entrance.
Recently, Kerege and other volunteers have literally taken matters into their own hands, organizing monthly scoop parties and have placed a can on the beach.
The beach was set aside in 1995 for dog owners to allow their dogs to run off leash. At the time, according to Ohlde, dog owners who pushed for the creation of the park promised they would scoop their pooches’ poop and provide bags for other dog owners – with the understanding no receptacle would be located at the beach itself, located roughly 100 yards from the park’s entrance.
It’s the only off-leash dog park between north Seattle and Everett, and dog owners come from all around the region to let their Rovers have a run, according to Kerege. There are always people with their dogs at the park, rain or shine – because dogs always have to “go,” Kerege said – and he’s seen as many as 40 dogs in the park at one time on a sunny summer Sunday.
“It’s the most utilized park in the city of Edmonds,” Kerege said, which would be good reason to provide more service there, he said.
Three years ago, the amount of dog waste at the park increased to the point where Ohlde arranged a contract with Sound Disposal to place at the park’s entrance a large trash can that can be emptied mechanically by the company, she said. The receptacle is marked “dog waste only.”
Because the park’s entrance is too narrow to allow a city truck through – it’s underneath the pier formerly used by the Unocal petroleum operation – crews are not able to drive out to the beach to mechanically pick up the waste, Ohlde said.
Over the years dog owners have hung plastic bags on the fence near the entrance for other dog owners to use for the waste and in turn pack out. A sign placed by the city reads, “Dog owners – please respect other park users and follow scoop laws. Please dispose of waste in provided receptacle at entrance.”
“It’s a reasonable level of service,” Ohlde said. “It works well, the people can come that far and put it out, that’s reasonable.”
But Kerege says only about 30 to 40 percent of the dog owners scoop the poop. Some scoop and put it in bags but leave them on the driftwood, he said, and sometimes even the most conscientious owner will miss a leaving or two by a roving canine.
“We get at least 100 pounds every month in our cleanups,” Kerege said. “People think because it’s a park they don’t have to clean up after themselves.”
Three to eight people have shown up for the cleanups, Kerege said. “It’s growing, but we need more.”
Kerege says he’s noticed a difference since he put the can on the beach, chained to a metal post, in June. “The thing is, it’s convenient now,” he said.
Kerege and others haul out the black plastic bag when it gets full. “People just kind of keep an eye on it,” he said.
Ohlde praised Kerege and the other volunteers.
“I appreciate what the group does. Dan’s been excellent, he’s really come forward and done a lot down there, which has helped,” she said.
Ohlde indicated she would be open to the idea of city crews picking up from a can on the beach if it could be done mechanically. But she said now, with the parks department potentially losing $120,000 in labor for 2003 because of a city revenue shortfall, is not the time to talk about expanding service.
In the meantime, the volunteers will keep at it. The cleanup parties take place at 10 a.m. the third Saturday of each month.
“Bring scoops, shovels, bags and a sense of humor,” Kerege said.
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