Stowe Reports for "Doodie"

The "Hazmat Crew" from North Country Animal League suited up for clean up at Stowe Doodie Day. Photo by Lori Fisher.

Few of us like picking up dog poop. For many dog owners it's the least favorite task of pet ownership. Pet poo may seem benign but those left behind stools are nasty to step in and bad for waterways. Pet waste contains disease-causing bacteria, viruses, and lots of excess nutrients that can close a beach to swimming, trigger weed and algae blooms, and foul water. LCC has been co-hosting events around the region to raise awareness of the issue and help clean up the dog doo accumulating at town parks, trails and sidewalks. We were delighted to team up with several Stowe businesses for the first annual "Stowe Doodie Day" which took place in May. Crop Bistro and Brewery, Image Outfitters, North Country Animal League (NCAL), Piecasso, Rusty Nail,  SkierShop, Stowe Cider, Stowe Land Trust and Sushi Yoshi mapped out clean-up routes, gathered prizes, and put on a fun poop scooping party complete with music, food and prizes. LCC provided bags, buckets, trowels and gloves for easy clean-up thanks to a grant from the Lake Champlain Basin Program. Nearly 50 people helped out, many in costumes, combing walking routes and trailways for dog doo. Together they collected approximately 2,450 stools or roughly 165 pounds. Team "Afecesanados" picked up 74.99 pounds of dog doo and the cash prize for the most stools collected. The Super S---s! and the NCAL Hazmat Crew garnered awards for costumes. Check out our slide show to see what a good time it was. Contact us at lcc@ lakechamplaincommittee.org or 802 658-1414 if you'd like to help organize an event in your community or partner with us in other ways.