BY KRYS STEFANSKY

It‘s Sunday, I know.

I should be talking about charity and kindness. Prayer and meditation. About gratitude and blessings.

But I need to talk about...droppings.

In particular, dog droppings.

I do not have a dog. So, dear readers, you’re going to have to help me here.

Why, especially now - given that our First Landing State Park is right here in town and people desperately need a place to get away from news about the Coronavirus - why is it that people do not consistently bag and remove their pet‘s droppings from the park? Every single time.  Every single time they come there with their dog and in the event that their dog does its necessary business.

Which evidently dogs constantly do when they get a chance to trot through the great outdoors. Nature is so stimulating!

Here‘s the thing. I walk the trails in this state park three to four times a week. Lately - maybe because it‘s spring, maybe because more people are bored at home and looking for a place to stretch their legs - they visit and bring their dogs.

This is good! Lots of cute dogs on the trails, sniffing the ferns, nosing around the trees, kicking up the pine straw. Big dogs, little dogs, pretty dogs, homely dogs. I enjoy them all.

But for some reason, despite signs at the trail head and a dispenser with free bags, some dog owners feel it burdensome, BURDENSOME, to carry the filled bags out of the park.

Instead, they drop them trailside. Or they stick them into a hole in a tree. Not amusing.

It‘s unsightly, unhealthy for the wildlife that lives in the park, and bad for the environment. The droppings are full of additives not usually found in the forest and the plastic bags take several lifetimes to disappear. If ever.

So here is my plea on this Sunday: IF you go walking with your handsome pup, bring a bag for his or her droppings, collect them, knot the bag and CARRY IT OUT. Toss it in the first garbage can you see.

Now, enjoy your Sunday, the fresh air and your furry best friend.

See you on the trails.