04/15/2020
DOG P**P AND LAWNCARE
Quite the high brow topic, eh? I realize it’s not the most glamorous of subjects, yet it’s an important one that carries much misinformation and many misconceptions.
Dog f***s can transmit bacteria and parasites to humans, including roundworms, hookworms, whipworms, cryptosporidia, and salmonella. A single gram of waste can contain 23 million f***l coliform bacteria. In fact, in 1991 the EPA labeled dog f***s as a non-point source pollutant, which is in the same category as herbicides, insecticides, oil, grease, and toxic chemicals. When infected dog waste is deposited in your lawn, the eggs of certain roundworms and other parasites can linger in the soil for years. Anyone who may come in contact with the soil is at risk, especially young children who often put things in their mouths and eyes and even your dog. You can help minimize the risk of transmission by keeping your pet and your pet’s environment clean. This means, of course, picking up where your dog left off 🙂
Which leads me to my next point. Simply mowing over the f***s can be dangerous and can spread the contaminants; hence, the reason why Sweeney’s will not do this. Once it gets into the mower blades and/or tires, the contaminants can be easily spread to someone else’s yard; thereby, creating a potential endemic.
Contrary to popular belief, dog f***s does not make good fertilizer. It’s actually toxic to your lawn, causing burns and discoloring. You mean not all p**p is created equal? That is correct. Whether or not a specific type of f***s is beneficial to plants depends mainly on the animal’s diet. Generally speaking, for f***s to make good fertilizer, it has to contain digested plant matter – that’s why cow manure (herbivore) makes an excellent and widely used fertilizer while dog p**p (carnivore) does not.
In order for dog f***s to be used as fertilizer, it must be composted with other materials and allowed to break down over time. Uncomposted dog f***s is simply hazardous and should never be used.
If you don’t have the time or inclination to clean up after your dog, there are companies out there that will do it for you. Just make sure they trained, licensed and bonded.
“Dogs are animals that p**p in public, and you’re supposed to pick it up. After a week of doing this, you’ve got to ask yourself, “Who’s the real master in this relationship?””
SO, WHAT DISEASES ARE HARMFUL TO HUMANS?
There are many bacterial based antigens found in dog waste. This one is the main one I will emphasize for this article.
Methicillin resistance staphylococcus aureus
Methicillin resistance staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a major cause of fatal infection in humans. Several investigations have reported that this pathogen has been isolated from some animals such as pigs, horses, cattle, cats and dogs. Of them, some believed those companion animals were the main reservoirs for the transmission of MRSA, being able to transmit the bacterium by direct contact with their owners. However, it seems that animal to human infection of MRSA is more seen in immunocompromised patients. Nevertheless, some evidence showed that this bacterium could be transmitted to healthy humans who own an infected animal. Traditional anti-staphylococcal antibiotics are not more effective in the treatment of infections caused by MRSA. Accordingly, newer drugs including vancomycin, linezolid, and daptomycin are widely used in the treatment of MRSA infections
