Residents frustrated by dog owners not cleaning up after their furry friends

PHILADELPHIA - Some neighbors and families in South Philadelphia want to get to the bottom of dog waste that is being left behind daily.

"Watch out for the dog poop! Watch out for the dog poop!" said one parent who wishes to remain anonymous. "Parents are always talking about how their kids are stepping in dog poop every day. It’s just hard to always dodge it. There’s so much, it kind of becomes a gauntlet."

Nancy Armstrong told us the pet waste is usually along Federal Street and S 10th Street next to Capitolo Playground.

We asked: "Have you stepped in it, or any of your family members?"

"My kids do, and then don’t always realize and then track it in the house," said Armstrong. "I have two young boys who run around and have to always be careful, and because it’s disgusting. It’s bad for people’s health, it’s ugly and it’s gross."

Her son Isaac, 7, said it’s been hard to dodge during their walks to and from school and to the playground.

"I keep seeing it. It might be dirt or poop and I don’t know," said Isaac. "If you step in it, and you think it’s just dirt, it might be poop and if you get poop on your shoes, it’s going to be gross."

Unlike the emoji many have come to know and love, the dog waste doesn’t look friendly or make anyone smile.

"This neighborhood does have more poop than the others," said dog walker Jay Outhier. "I’m always walking Edna when I’m here. I’m always looking down anyway so I’ve never stepped in it or anything. I’ve just noticed this street is especially poopy."

"Personally, I think it’s lazy. It isn’t that hard to clean up your dog‘s stuff, and I mean you got the dog, so it’s your job man. It’s too beautiful of an area to do awful stuff to the neighborhood to be quote literally [expletive] on."

We reached out to Philadelphia Parks and Recreation that said it’s aware of the current challenges at Capitolo Playground. Spokesperson Maita Soukup wrote in an email:

Dog waste issues are compounded by litter that piles up during peak times for neighboring businesses. Parks & Rec is aware of the current challenges at Capitolo, and is working to address them. New NO littering and curb your dog signs were recently installed. As a next step, Parks & Rec is exploring where to install a trash corral at Capitolo. The trash corral will allow staff to better manage the litter build up in the park and on the surrounding sidewalks.

 We thank residents for keeping Parks & Rec informed of dog waste issues at their neighborhood park or rec site. Residents can contact parksandrecreation@phila.gov.