It's more than a mere nuisance for those who step in it. Or smell it. Or find it in their gardens.
Dog leavings on streets and sidewalks can contribute to water-quality problems in streams.
"You wouldn't let your dog poop in your pool," said Joanne Dahme, spokeswoman for the Water Department, which is holding the contest. "But if you don't pick up after your dog, after the next rain it could wind up in the river."
Especially in Roxborough, Manayunk, and East Falls, the neighborhoods in the "spokesdog" pilot project.
These are steeply graded communities, offering plenty of opportunity for poop to plummet to the Schuylkill.
Plus, unlike most of the rest of the city, sewer pipes there are separated. Household waste goes to the sewage-treatment plant. Storm water - and all it carries - flows directly into the river.
Not far from drinking-water intakes, it must be noted.
Officials estimate that 5,000 dogs live in the three neighborhoods.
The project grew out of community greening efforts that involved landscaping yards and curbs.
All too often, however, someone would finish a nice project only to find that it also made a nice rest stop for a dog, said Gina Snyder, executive director of the nonprofit East Falls Development Corp.
So, instead of planting, some people started cementing.
"We were horrified to realize it was all about dog waste," Dahme said. "It was becoming an obstacle to us making these communities greener communities."
Dahme has a dog, a rescued greyhound named Terminator - he came with the name - and can vouch for how often a dog goes.
According to statistics cited by the Water Department, dogs in the U.S. produce 3.6 billion pounds of waste a year. And it can take upward of a year to degrade.
Some - probably those who don't pick up after their dogs - regard it as a sort of harmless fertilizer. It's not.
