Yellowknife man cleans 'big sea of poop' from walking trail

AsYellowknife wakes fromwintereach spring, melting snow reveals mountains of dog poop left behind by careless owners.

This year, one local man decided he was going to do something about it.

Bernie Bauhaus has been walking his dog on the popular Tin Can Hill walking trail for the past 30 years and has seen how dog waste has accumulated.

"It was just like a big sea of poop, you know, it was just nasty," he said.

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It had gotten so bad when he went for a walkseveral weeks ago, that Bauhaus said he realized something needed to be done. He's taken it upon himself to spend hours on the weekends shoveling away the semi-frozen excrement.

"You just might as well do it yourself," he said. "That's all there is to it.It's just no point in complaining about it. Just get it done."

So far, Bauhaussaid he's hauled about 45 kilograms of doggywaste away from the start of the trail.

They have to get the incentive. They have to want to really do it.- Bernie Bauhaus, Yellowknife resident

He isn't asking for any help with his cleanup efforts, but he said someone else may have to pick up the shovel as he's leaving the city at the end of June.

"If people want to do it, they'll do it," he said, addingif owners spent a few hours shovelling poop they'd be more inclined to pick up after their dogs."They have to get the incentive. They have to want to really do it."

Bylaws difficult to enforce

The city's dog bylaw does requireowners to pick up after their dogs, as well as carry something capable of removing feces like a bag.And theycan't let dog poop accumulate on their own property to the pointthat it poses a health risk or annoyance to others.

Failure to follow these sections of the bylaw can result in fines of $100.

Dennis Marchiori, the city's director of public safety, said it can be difficult to enforce the bylaws as officerswould have to witness owners not cleaning up after their dogs.

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"The difficult thingis we're not in all places at all times," he said.

But Marchiori said there have been cases where owners were givenwarnings and fines for allowing too much poop to accumulate on their properties, or for not having bags on them when walking their dog.

He addedit's often when residents make complaints that the department will have a discussion with an owner.

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Marchiori applauds Bauhaus's efforts and said the city hopes to do something to recognize him. He said if more people would do the little things it would make the city a nicer place to live.

"It's one of those things that I think is actually really great and it shows pride in our community," he said. "I find that to be just incredible."