New survey gets the scoop on why owners don't pick up after their pets
RALEIGH (WTVD) -- A lot of people in Raleigh complain about people not picking up their pet's waste.
Now, a student at NC State, Clodagh Lyons-Bastian, is studying why people don't pick up after their pets and what she uncovers may change how the City of Raleigh deals with it.
Lyons-Bastian is also on the Raleigh Parks Board.
"More and more we're hearing that people are having problems with other people leaving dog messes," she said.
After hearing so many complaints, Lyons-Bastian wanted to find out what makes people scoop poop or not.
"A responsibility as a person or do they see obligation to the community or an authoritarian view," said Lyons-Bastian. "I have to pay a fine if I don't."
So to answer those questions, she created an online survey and it hit a nerve with 600 responses in just a week.
"Preliminarily, most people don't always pick up," she said. "Very few will never and very few will always."
The survey asks: "If you have not picked up your dog's waste in the past, please indicate the reason why, " and, "Are you more likely to pick it up if others are watching?"
It also asks why it's important to pick up after dogs.
Lyons-Bastian will present the findings to the Raleigh Parks Department and neighborhoods around the city can get them too.
You could start seeing signs or new campaigns with a very focused message to dog owners based on why they say they don't pick up.
