Ballardite Sharon walks her Golden Retriever “Katie” around the neighborhood and uses the “mutt mitts” that the city provides to clean up after her dog. Recently, the bags were removed from Loyal Heights CC and Salmon Bay Park. After emailing the city she learned that the dispensers were removed at some parks as an experimental cost saving measure. She emailed Aaron Bert with Seattle Parks and Recreation, “These spots are along our regular walking routes and it was always nice to know that bags were available. With the increase in use of re-usable bags for shopping and other uses, the flow of throw away bags into my house has really declined! I know find myself grabbing “more than my share” at the dog parks that we visit, just so I can have some for future use in the neighborhood!” Within a few weeks the “mutt mitt” dispensers have been returned to both areas. (Thanks Sharon for emailing us!)
Mutt mitts back at two local parks
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I expect to see a massive increase in doggie doo if this silly plastic bag tax passes.
Because clearly it's up to somebody else to provide supplies for owners to take care of their pets?
Sharon,
Please stop taking “more than your share”.
Thanks,
Neighbor
Well in a bind, its nice when they are provided, but as a dog owner, I would not think of going out without a roll of bags.
This is not where I want to see parks money go. Bring your own bag! Buy them if you have to. There are many a pet store which sell those dispensers you attach to the leash.
I'm sorry the Parks Department didn't have the cajones to tell “Sharon” to stuff it.
I'm definitely voting FOR the bag tax, just because of all the 'vote no on prop 1' junk mail I've been getting.
the group opposing this has already generated 50 garbage trucks full of waste with all their mailings, and I'm sure they hate dogs, too.
I bet the Ballard Chamber of Commerce is behind it.
I am so glad to see these back! I too walk this route past both parks. Yes I can use bags from the supermarket, but the one the city provides are bio-degradable. Hey…I don't have kids but gladly pay taxes to support schools. As part of the tax I pay for parks and recreation, I feel supported by having this bags handy. A small gesture but one I use daily.
Given the number of dogs in Seattle, maybe the city should add a 'bag' tax to the cost of a dog license to help cover this additional cost.
While I agree with Adriane that dog owners should carry their own supply, they are useful for non-dog owners wanting to clean up the parks. Just like the garbage cans that Parks has removed from the parks. In both cases, the removal of the doggie poo bags and the garbage cans, the parks deteriorate because Parks Dept has removed a tool. I used to pick up beer cans and bottles from Salmon Bay Park, and now to dispose of them, I have to take them back home.
As a dog owner I feel that it is my responsibility to buy, carry and use the biodegradable bags…and I do. I have never used a mutt mitt from any of the parks.
Sharon, you have to pay for your dog's food, her vet care and anything else that is necessary for her to be healthy and happy. Why is buying doggy poo bags not part of the deal?
Sure I realize that accidents happen and bags can be forgotten. Having a dispenser on the leash along with an extra roll in my bag makes being caught without practically impossible. But if someone is caught bagless, the odds of it happening near one of these dispensers is highly unlikely. That is, unless you happen to live within a block or two of the park. In which case, why should the parks dept and thereby every tax payer supply bags for just a few ?
Thanks for the spin! I hadn't thought of using those bags to clean up people trash, but now I'll help myself to the poop bags and re-purpose them.
People need to lay off Sharon. These threads often become deep and rich with us v.s them, and quickly turn into rages of blame. Not that we are there yet, but I can see it happening.
The plastics industry put in a million dollars just for this one referendum. There's been a lot of suspicious anti bag fee stuff going on that I suspect is paid astroturfers stirring up opposition. Mysterious blog posters from 'concerned single mom' who's never posted before kind of stuff.
Really! WTF?
I bring my own, in fact I bring a few as my dog can be a prolific pooper at times, but it is nice to have an option when you run out, drop them, or forget.
Buy your own damn bags so that they're there for those of us who NEED them, not just you because you WANT them.
I pay taxes for the school too, so maybe I should be able to use the Parks Dept pickup truck to go to the supermarket! I'll just run down there, hop in and take it while they're out picking up dog poop.
Buy your own damn bags. They sell biodegradable ones at most pet stores and they're not expensive.
yeah,but, she made a ridiculous statement and we shouldn't be shy about calling her out on it. As long as we're not calling for a public flogging or being insulting, what's wrong with pointing out the error of her ways?
And this is why Seattle is no longer a great city to live in. We are way way way to judgmental. Polarized, even over dog poop bags. Totally amazing.
Sharon, thanks for doing this. Take the bags. Use them. Enjoy walking your dog. Enjoy a healthy and happy life. Smile at the ya-hoos who want to rag on you.
Nothing, but just give ti some time, and watch people freak out!
No, but the landfill result will be the same, it'll just cost us more than it does now.
um, so, aren't they removing trash cans due to the current expense?
I'm confused.
And, Comcast put a billion dollars into their little mailers.
Forgoing them too I suppose.
The use of the parks should be for everyone, and making it more user friendly for dog owners isn't bad, right?
Oh, no, we can't be friendly, sorry.
Divide and conquer, they have.
Quote as Yoda.
(not a free quote, deposit your fee to Nickels for Mayor, any use or description of the above quote without permission of Nickels for Mayor will result in…ah crap, something, for sure.)
Some don't realize 'just in case' isn't a bad thing.
No doubt Edog! they just about clubbed me with sticks over in the fourm when I was silly enough to suggest my two favorite Animal Shelters to someone looking to re-home two cats.
BTW, you deserve a shout-out for your return trip retrieval today, well played!
i must say, people “taking more than there share” would likely skew data and such as far as recognizing needs at various parks…
either way, its not worth gettin' to testy over, imo.
yes, taking more than their share does skew the data, in fact, we (I mean 'WE') count on that. Just so we know how much to pony up to cover the need (OR) provide for way more than needed.
I'm afraid the latter is more to the point.
Anyhow, off subject entirely, a pit bull just peed on my sandwich board.
I just nailed the issue.
Why aren't these coin-op dispensers?
(sorry, appropriate for a bag tax)
Wait….is that the sky falling?
huh? That doesn't even make sense. What is your point about comcast in regards to the bag issue and who's paying for the opposition?
Well, I do0 doo (sorry) thank you for the poo poo bags as I scooped that glorious effort my pup made right in that bag today at Salmon Bay Park. Ahhh it all comes out in the end. Now I am going into cyber hiding.
So many haters out there. WTF?! my gosh you guys – there will not be an increase in poop. Irresponsible dog owners will never pick up their poop regardless if the bags are provided.
Personally I buy my own decompostable doggie poop bags and don't at all expect “someone else to provide bags for me” as one poster said – sheesh! It is just nice when you run out of bags because doggie has taken too many poops on a walk- who hasn't been in that situation?!
Thank you Sharon for CONTACTING THEM.
The Victorians would be so proud. The sight of dog owners walking around with bags of poo never ceases to crack me up. I even saw one lady who had some sort of stylized, plastic-lined poo-purse that resembled a designer handbag. I certainly appreciate it, but you have to admit it is hilarious.
I could use a few dispensers in the parks with some disposable diapers, different sizes of course, for those times my little grandsons are playing at the park and I forget to bring enough diapers. It would be convenient that's for sure!
Why not simply “spread the misery” and raise the fees on dogs? They are a luxury after all. Why do residents even want government in their lives so frigging much these days? Now it's down to GD poop bags for YOUR damn mutt? Yeah, dogs are a proirity allrighty. I'd like to see a license fee of well over $100/dog. Hit 'em where it hurts. Another fine progressive idea! Your dogs probably have better health care than you do. Ask your dog, he won't mind paying more. Do it for the children.
It's the same as taking extra Splenda for later from Starbucks. Or a packaged moist towelette “just in case” for later. What are we- Napkin Police?
I am sure there are companies against the bag fee but this seems a little hypocritical. If the bags are so bad why are we not just banning them. That would be the best for everyone. It seems a little crazy to keep something that we know is bad.
I like the idea of a the poop bag dispenser. They could charge .25 a bag and everyone would be taken care of. Good thinking chopper_74.
People need to provide their own bags, and there ARE biodegradable bags available at such places as Bark, Mud Bay, All the Best, etc. Grocery bags should not be used unless you really have nothing else. I have been caught without a bag a time or two and either I'm close to home so I go back and get a bag and walk back to the poop and pick it up, OR I look in a trash can for a cup or tear off a piece of the trash bag to use. That has only happened to me a couple of times. I'm sick of seeing piles of poop around my block, which has occurred since the two new apt buildings have gone up on 54th and Market at 15th. Pick up your mess people!
good point…I pay taxes for the children that I don't and will never have myself. So maybe I deserve some extra poop bags! hahaaa
Yeah, and those kids will be paying your social security, medicare, etc. someday – what's your dog done for me lately?
We haven't been able to outright ban cigarettes either. There's plenty of things that are bad that don't get banned because the powers behind them prevent it. We were one of the last countries in the developed world to ban lead in paint because the paint industry was complaining about the cost of taking lead out. Now we pay 1000 times more to remove the lead paint that was applied after the rest of the world stopped using it, and we still suffer the damage.
The plastics in the ocean are really scary. Plastic never really goes away, but it does get smaller and smaller. There are fish who are underdeveloped due to ingesting lots of little bits of plastic. Read up on the sea of plastic in the Pacific if you really want to fear for the future of marine life. I like seafood, but I'm beginning to wonder if my eventual grandkids will ever get to taste it.
My dog's broken up a couple attempted car break ins. Is that good enough to earn a poop bag in case I forget to bring mine or run out on an especially poopy day?
I s'pose I could let that slide