Officials: Snap Pics Of Dog Owners Not Cleaning Up After Pets
ROSS TOWNSHIP (KDKA) -- If you see something... snap a picture. That's the message from officials in Ross Township for people who witness dog owners heading home from 'potty time' without cleaning up after their pet.
Tom Anderson says he walks his dog, Eddie, almost every day, and he's always prepared.
"Yes, we are equipped to pick up Eddie's deposits," Anderson says.
But not everyone is doing their duty in the Perrysville business corridor of Ross Township.
"We see, what my wife and I call, bad puppy parents that leave their messes around," Anderson says.
They're not alone. Township leaders recently got a petition from business owners and residents urging them to enforce the ordinance that requires people to clean up after their dogs.
The township manager says action is being taken to clean up the mess.
"We've already posted signs, which say 'Clean up after your dogs, and we're buying four dog poop stations that have the bags, the containers to put the feces in. Those are going to be installed within the next two to three weeks," said Ross Township Manager Douglas Sample.
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Plus, Sample says, "We have increased police patrols in the area."
And if you catch a dog doing its business, a picture may be worth a thousand words. However, it takes a little more than that to get someone cited.
"We need a sworn affidavit, and the witness has to be willing to come to the local magistrate to testify that this person's dog defecated on public property or private property," Sample says.
You can be cited for a nuisance violation anywhere in Allegheny County if you allow your dog to "go to the bathroom" on school grounds, a city park or other public or private property, and then don't clean it up.
