As an animal health practitioner, I am pleased by the trend of recent major Hollywood movies promoting proper pet waste disposal. Considering the volume of fecal material I encounter on West Hollywood’s sidewalks and adjacent grass filled lots, I hope that movies like “I Love You, Man” and “Marley & Me” motivate all dog owners to clean up their dog’s poop.
“I Love You, Man” exhibits a sense of believability pertaining to the lack of sanitary contributions made by people frequenting public venues with dogs. On more than one occasion, Jason Segel’s character, Sydney, abstains from picking up his dog’s bowel movement and incurs the wrath of a passer-by. Sydney and his canine companion, Anwar Sadat, live in Venice, CA where they go for outings on Venice beach and its neighboring cement pathway. Such real-life settings are frequently used by human pedestrians for both relaxing and invigorating outdoor activities. “I Love You Man” realistically portrays the fact that many dog owners neglect to properly dispose of their dog’s waste. Additionally, the movie portrays the incensed reaction the general public should exhibit towards such absentminded canine caretakers.
The movie “Marley & Me” also sends the message of proper dog-beach bathroom etiquette. Luke Wilson portrays John, Marley’s good-intentioned yet naïve owner. When John takes Marley to the beach for his first sandy outing, he is warned by Jorge (Alec Mapa) about the possibility of police shutting down the dog beach if pet waste is not appropriately removed. On a subsequent beach visit, chaos ensues when Marley squats at the water’s edge to pass a bowel movement, prompting the approach of a police truck.
Both movies utilize “potty humor” to educate dog owners about proper disposal of their canine-companion’s waste when frequenting public venues. Deposition of fecal material and urine on dog beaches, parks, and other communal locations are issues of public health concern. Both feces and urine are capable of spreading zoonotic (passed from animal to person or vice versa) diseases.
Zoonotic diseases potentially spread by feces include parasites, such as Coccidia, Giardia, Hookworm, Roundworm, and Tapeworm. Fecal material can also contaminate the environment with harmful bacteria, such as Salmonella and E. coli. Urine has potential to transmit zoonotic bacteria such as Leptospirosis. Zoonotic disease transmission is more likely to occur via feces than urine. Dogs carrying such agents may not manifest clinical signs of illness, yet their waste products are still capable transmitting infectious disease.
Ultimately, dog owners are responsible for their pet’s eliminations and should plan for circumstances when their dog may pass a bowel movement by carrying biodegradable pet-waste bags. Attach a waste-bag dispenser to your dog’s leash to ensure that you will not stuck empty handed. Despite West Hollywood and other Los Angeles metro cities providing waste disposal stations with bag dispensers, dog owners should not rely on the availability of such options when walking their dogs.
On more occasions than I can recall, I have offered a waste bag (unused) to a dog owner who has not picked their dog’s poop out of laziness or apparent lack of awareness of their dog’s fecal production. As an advocate of animal health care, a responsible dog owner, and a West Hollywood resident, I will continue to utilize dog waste bags to reduce potential for disease transmission and contribute to the overall cleanliness of my environment.
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