Scoop that poop

Charleston's unseasonably warm weather is sending more people outside walking their dogs. And those dogs are leaving more "presents" behind than what's normal in the winter.

As a result, officials this week issued a politeness warning: Clean up after Fido.

"We have been receiving more calls than you would normally hear this time of year," said Jenn Scales, coordinator for the city's Keep Charleston Beautiful program, which tries to stay out in front of dog issues.

But with temperatures reaching into the mid- to upper 70s in recent days, "there are more dogs out than we would normally see in January or February," she added.

Some of the complaints come in about messes on city sidewalks, but others are coming in from athletic fields, where dogs aren't supposed to be in the first place.

Case in point: A mother who complained after her soccer-playing child was going in for a slide kick and managed to slide through the left-behinds.

Over the years, the city has made several overt efforts to get pet matter under control, even posting state health department estimates that the Charleston area produces more than 10,000 pounds of pet waste every day.

"Improperly disposed of pet waste can wash into storm drains, which lead directly to our streams and wetlands, or mix into our soils leaving behind harmful parasites and bacteria," one alert states.

The city code also states "anyone walking a dog (or cat) is required to remove the animal's waste immediately."

Fines vary, depending on the situation, Scales said.

Another tack has been to put up 79 clean-up bag dispensers spread throughout Charleston's dog-friendly parks.

College of Charleston junior Brittany Guenther of Arlington, Va., is among those who have gotten the message, traveling with three plastic grocery bags when she jogs with her energetic 2-year-old Labrador-pit bull mix, Miller.

"It grosses me out when people don't pick their dog poop up," she said Friday at Colonial Lake. "I think Charleston is the most beautiful city in the world, and if you don't pick your dog poop up, it's not going to stay that way."

The problem hasn't gotten to the point of issuing a health alert around the city, Scales said, but it has drifted into the range of living up to your responsibility as a citizen and pet owner.

"It's more politeness," she said, "to encourage people and to remind them that it is litter, and it needs to be removed."