I have two little doggies that I walk on the beach daily. It never fails; within moments of stepping out on the beach one of them will do her business. In a short time the other dog will do the same. I usually have a pocketful of poopy bags with me, but in the event I have forgotten, I mark the spot with a stick or rock and go back to the car and get a bag to pick it up. I wish everyone would do the same.

Have you ever walked on the beach and stepped in dog poo? I have, and it’s a rude interruption to what is usually a time of  Zen for me. Instead of walking and looking out at the surrounding beauty, you have to look down and make sure you don’t step on Puppy Mines. One time a family member visiting from out of town sat down on a pile of gravel to see what the agate excitement was all about and sat on some buried poo. Pet owners: it does no good to simply cover it up!

I write this as a plea to my fellow dog loving beach walkers: please pick up after your dog! If you don’t have poopy bags handy, any bag will do. Sometimes there’s enough garbage on the beach you can just look around and find something to use. It would be especially nice if the city and/or county would provide doggy bag stations at each popular beach, if not for the residents then for the much vaunted tourist we are supposed to be attracting. Or better yet, copy the Central Washington idea of having a PVC pipe with a large hole in it so visitors can take and leave extra bags.