With the arrival of milder temperatures, the massive snow banks are gradually melting away to reveal the unpleasant surprises trapped underneath. Discarded food wrappers and containers, newspapers and even more unsightly dog-waste either in bags or unwrapped, are appearing all over South End sidewalks. On Saturday, March 7, Daniel Avila and Jim Batty, owners of K9 Strolls, a doggie day care and dog-walking business located at 83 Pembroke Street decided to take matters into their own hands, leading their staff in traversing several blocks around their shop and collecting five trash bags of dog waste and other debris.
They covered an area roughly corresponding to the Pilot Block Neighborhood Association's (PBNA) territory, from Warren Avenue to Tremont and from West Canton Street to West Newton Street as well as Harriet Tubman Park. As a follow-up, the team called the city to report overflowing and snow-bound trash. Batty said, "It was a good effort and we definitely got a lot of good feedback from the neighbors.
"We spend most of our days walking around the neighborhood and have noticed as the snow recedes, trash, poo and poo bags have risen to the surface; unpleasant to say the least! We've heard a lot of concerns about the poo and poo bags as well, so we decided to do something about it," Batty explained. " The effort was well timed, as a resident complained to this reporter the previous day that she had seen quite a bit of dog waste in the snow as she passed through Franklin Square.
Avila and Batty scheduled their staff for a couple of hours on Saturday to perform the poo patrol. As a reward for their crew's hard work, Avila and Batty treated them to pizza and donuts. Batty feels the clean-up day was beneficial to their business as well as to neighbors. "It turned out to be a really great team-building experience. It also brought more awareness to our employees about the problem. We've noticed they are more inclined to pick up poo bags or trash while out on their walks," he observed.
Scott Mabel of PBNA expressed the gratitude of area residents for the K9 Strolls team's clean-up effort. "Lately, the streets have a lot more dog waste on them than normal, both in bags and just sitting there. I'm not sure why. Regardless, as the snowbanks melt and more of this becomes visible, it was very generous of our neighbors at K9 Strolls to sponsor a clean-up. It shows they're invested in their neighborhood, and several people I know nearby have said they appreciate them taking the initiative." City councilor at-large Michelle Wu responded to K9 Stroll's Tweet announcing their Poo Pick-Up, "Thanks from a grateful neighbor!" Batty confirmed, "We're still getting thank-you's! (sic) The PBNA really spread the word for us."
Encouraged by all the appreciation they have received, Avila and Batty are planning to repeat the poo patrol in a few weeks. "This was a one day event, but we felt so accomplished and have received lots of great feedback that we will be doing it again in early to mid-April once more of the snow has melted," Batty said, adding, "We take great pride in being part of the South End and we thought this would be a great way for us to give back to the community."