Pet owners: Stop leaving bags behind

By Ben Olson
Reader Staff

Here at the Reader, we hear from our loyal readers about every subject under the sun. One particularly smelly subject involves pet waste, or rather, the tidy little bags that contain the waste that are left behind.

According to reader Joanne Cottrell, a scenario that happens all too often is when pet owners carefully bag up their dog’s poop and then leave the bag by the side of the trail for someone else to throw away.

“Our trails are such an incredible gift,” wrote Cottrell. “To see this being done is not only depressing but disgusting.”

The pet waste bags have had an impact on reducing annoying piles of pet waste from the trails around Sandpoint, but when a pet defecates early on a hike, most pet owners bristle at the idea of carrying a plastic bag full of feces for an hour or more, so they’ll leave the bags on the trail to pick up on the way back to their vehicles.

The problem is, short term memory is sometimes faulty, and pet owners often leave without grabbing the bag, leaving a present for others to pick up.

“This is done way too often on trails here,” wrote Cottrell.

Alright, pet owners, you’ve been called out. Nobody likes dealing with poop, but let’s keep those bags off the trails. Remember, when you leave a bag of poop behind, somebody has to pick it up.