GILROY
– Dog owners in Gilroy should get the scoop: pick up after your
dog.
By Lori Stuenkel
GILROY – Dog owners in Gilroy should get the scoop: pick up after your dog.
Three pooper scooper dispensers stocked with plastic bags were installed along the Uvas levee to help dog owners keep the city clean after Fido does his duty.
“It’s something we felt might be needed in the community,” said Pam Rubio, educational coordinator for the Gavilan Kennel Club, the group that bought the dispensers.
The pooper scoopers were installed just in time for the American Kennel Club’s annual “Responsible Dog Owners Day” last Wednesday.
“We just want to draw attention to being a responsible dog owner, and picking up after your dog is one way of being responsible,” Rubio said.
The Gavilan Kennel Club asked the City of Gilroy to put up the scooper dispensers after hearing that some dog waste gets left behind by irresponsible owners.
The kennel club purchased the dispensers for $500 each and will buy additional plastic bags as they are needed.
The scooper stations are located on the levee near the Uvas Park entrance on Miller Avenue, the Laurel Drive entrance and the Luchessa Avenue entrance. After using the bags, owners can throw them away in garbage cans located along the levee.
The city provided installation of the dispensers on Tuesday and Wednesday and will assist the kennel club in replenishing the supply of plastic bags.
City code declares it a “nuisance” to allow a dog to defecate on city property or property that does not belong to the dog’s owner, without disposing of it properly.
“We’ve had a few complaints regarding the dog poop here and there,” said Chris Orr, parks and landscape supervisor for the City of Gilroy.
If caught by Gilroy Police or Animal Control officers, owners are fined $100 for first violations, $200 for second violations within one year and each additional violation costs $500, with a maximum of three per year.
“This is sort of a pilot program,” Orr said of the pooper scoopers. “We’re trying them out, and we’ll see how it goes.”
If the scoopers are a success, more could be installed around town, Orr said.
