Messy dog poop problem best solved by education, not fines: Mississauga officials

Mississauga is stepping up efforts to try to get a handle on a messy problem that’s been causing a growing stink across the city the past few years.

Despite repeated pleas to dog owners to pick up after their pets and properly dispose of the waste, City of Mississauga officials say numerous unsightly messes are still being left behind in parks and other places across the city.

Citing a difficulty in enforcing the bylaw that deals with dog poop not being properly disposed of in public spaces ($115 fines can be issued), officials say their focus instead is on hammering home the “stoop and scoop” message via public education efforts.

In an email to INsauga.com, city spokesperson Irene McCutcheon said Mississauga Animal Services officers have visited some 3,000 homes so far in 2024 to provide educational documents and information about the importance of cleaning up after dogs in public and on private property.

Moving forward, she added, “there are plans to increase and enhance these community engagement efforts.”

In a further attempt to get the message out, Animal Services officials have made available online a “Stoop and Scoop” poster residents can print and display on their properties.

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Issuing fines can be challenging

“Animal Services has embraced a community-centered strategy, with education as the cornerstone of tackling local concerns,” the city said. “As such, the city deploys staff through initiatives such as our Animal Awareness and Responsibility Campaign, where we engage directly with the community, fostering cooperation and often identifying issues and individuals who may not be cleaning up after their pets. Animal Services collects stoop and scoop complaint information, which can inform where we direct our AARC patrols.”

McCutcheon said the city has decided the solution to the messy problem lies more in public education than in enforcement, which can be difficult.

“Issuing a fine for failing to pick up after a pet can be challenging. An officer must either witness the incident firsthand or receive evidence from a complainant that shows the failure to clean up,” she said. “Unfortunately, enforcing these fines through patrols is difficult because pet owners will act responsibly when a uniformed officer is nearby.”

Scenes such as this, where dog owners have irresponsibly disposed of their pets’ waste, are common across Mississauga. (Photo: City of Mississauga)

Under Mississauga’s Animal Services Care and Control Bylaw, pet owners must clean up after their pets promptly, even on their own property.

“Violations in private areas (residential properties, for example) are easier to manage as officers can gather information about property ownership and observe the situation directly,” said McCutcheon.

However, enforcement in public spaces such as city parks and trails, for example, is a different story.

“Enforcing these matters can be challenging for officers. Consequently, we issue a minimal number of tickets annually and have found that our Animal Responsibility campaign remains more effective in addressing these violations that occur in public spaces, which are inherently difficult to track to a dog owner,” said McCutcheon.

So far in 2024, the city noted, Animal Services has investigated 52 complaints related to “stoop and scoop” rules not being followed on private properties across the city. That compares to 64 such complaints in 2023.

In a post to social media last week, city officials said “plastic bags filled with dog waste continue to be left in all kinds of places such as recycling containers, on the ground on trails, sidewalks, streets, forests and bushes at local parks.”

23.6 million pounds of dog waste each year

In April, city officials noted that with dog ownership on the rise in Canada’s seventh-largest city, the four-legged companions are producing an estimated 23.6 million pounds (10,705 tonnes) of waste each year in Mississauga.

Of that, they said at the time, about 16.2 million pounds are disposed of properly by dog owners and walkers. That leaves 7.4 million pounds of excrement left somewhere outdoors where it doesn’t belong — and where, over time, it can pose a public health risk to both people and animals, city officials said.

With its April message to the dog owner community seemingly having no impact — in fact, officials noted, the problem only worsened — the city issued a news release the first week of July stating that dog messes were “being left everywhere.”

The careless, messy behaviour of many dog owners in Mississauga isn’t a new issue. Early last year, city officials also went public with a message urging pet owners and dog walkers to be more mindful and respectful.

And in September 2022, city officials pleaded with uncooperative dog owners to clean up their acts when they’re cleaning up after their four-legged friends.