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Summit Daily letters: Abandoned dog poop is pollution

Abandoned dog poop is pollution

Many dedicated Summit County dog owners as well as visitors understand the value of outdoor exercise for their canines. A tired dog who is loved, well-fed, stimulated through training or play, socialized, and regularly exercised is typically a happy dog. Kudos to those conscientious folks who prioritize the needs of their dogs.

Summit County’s population has grown in the past 40 years along with a significant increase in dogs. As most dog owners embrace the responsibility of owning a dog or dogs, it is challenging to understand why there continues to be a significant amount of abandoned dog poop on the streets of our neighborhoods, on bike paths, on our trails and in areas of our pristine mountain community. Besides being an eyesore, it potentially creates significant health problems.



Imagine our county officials or Forest Service closing access to many of our favorite areas due to the lack of responsibility exhibited by some or many dog owners. It happened in Boulder this past year.

Each of us dog owners has the responsibility of cleaning up after our dogs, as I have not been able to teach my dogs to do this task. There are no longer any excuses. We are not entitled to pollute our environment at the expense of others who also enjoy this beautiful landscape. Now is the time for all of us to do the right thing. Carry bags to pick up and properly dispose of our dogs’ waste. Our environment and its inhabitants thank you.



Lyn Manton Krueger

Dogsong Animal Training and Behavior

Dillon

On the march

I marched with the women in Washington on Jan. 21. I flew out of Denver the day before and was on a plane filled with women in pink hats! Having been depressed since the election, I was uplifted by being with over half a million people who were also extremely distressed by the new resident of the White House. Millions marched with us across the world.

Now, however, my optimism is fading. Every day there is a new order signed by the president that is aimed at sowing chaos in our country. As Williams Shakespeare wrote in “Hamlet”: “Though this be madness, yet there is method in’t.” I am beginning to think that the president is doing this on purpose, as he did during his campaign. It is to create a new problem every day, so that we do not know which one to tackle first.

I am 66 and have never seen this before in our country. We are drawing battle lines — in many cases, within our own families and groups of friends. I confess it is not possible for me to accept the views of these people who exhibit religious intolerance, racism, misogyny, and lack analytical thought and concern for the environment. Yes, I am intolerant of their intolerance and lack of sane judgment! This conundrum is driving me insane. How can one claim to be a Christian and “pro life,” when one openly does not want to help the people that are already alive and in desperate need of help? Wouldn’t Jesus help these people? In fact, all the religions that I have studied have similar altruistic beliefs.

I want to spend my time skiing, hiking and playing with my grandchildren. I cannot sit by, however, and let our country implode without a fight. Now, I am marching, demonstrating, writing letters, tweeting, posting, calling, and, alas, worrying about my grandchildren. Will they have a democratic country or even a viable planet when they are my age?

Mary Ann Gatto-Bingham

Frisco

Build it bigger

There’s been a lot in the news the last several months about a parking garage in Breckenridge. I was surprised to see in a recent article that they were only considering a parking garage of approximately 400 spots. That’s just a Band-Aid for the situation. They aren’t thinking long term, 10 to 20 years from now. The best solution, for all of Summit County, is to build a parking garage in Silverthorne or Dillon that would have a few thousand spots. All the communities/ski areas of Summit County should send buses to/from their areas and this would substantially cut back on the traffic problems in all the areas. Breckenridge isn’t the only one with traffic/parking issues. Keystone, A-Basin and Copper also max out on parking on holiday weekends.

Ann Buckell

Breckenridge


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