Success StoryCompanion Animals: Dog Excrement in Lexington Parks



Companion Animals: Dog Excrement in Lexington Parks

Author: Brad Lee

Planning Unit: Plant and Soil Sciences

Major Program: Water and Soil Quality and Conservation

Outcome: Initial Outcome

Dog excrement, which contains 4.0% nitrogen and 3.1% phosphorus, is one of the primary sources of nutrient runoff that can lead eutrophication of Kentucky’s urban waterways.  We developed an outreach program, supported by the Lexington Fayette Urban County Government, to bring awareness to this important issue.  As a part of this educational effort, we investigated the impact of signage reminding dog park users to pick up after their pets.  A baseline was established by georeferencing the dog excrement piles across four Lexington dog parks on April 26, 2022. Signage was installed by the entrance to each dog park on this date, and the dog excrement piles were georeferenced one year later, April 24, 2023.  Data collected indicates that signage at the dog park entrance gates do not impact the number of excrement piles remaining within the dog park.  






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