Stepping in dog poo is not what Chandra Bjornsen and her son Leif, 8, like to do at Lookout Lake.
They often bring their dog Nelson there because it’s a short walk from their Colwood home and she brings her own bags to collect her black lab’s deposits, but often wishes she had more to pick up feces of other dogs.
When she doesn’t have extra bags, Bjornsen relies on moving the poo with a stick.
“I have been here in the past when I forgot bags, it happens,” Bjornsen said. “Sometimes dogs run ahead and go and you don’t notice.”
One winter the mother and son were rolling snowballs into snowmen at the park only to find the not so nice treat in the snow. In the summer the feces “is camouflaged” in the wood chips and sandy sections of the park.
With land mines in mind, Bjornsen sent a letter asking Colwood council for a bag dispenser in the park for dog owners to use.
“We approved for it to be investigated further,” said Mayor Carol Hamilton.
Colwood does have dispensers in some parks, Hamilton said, and at times will stock them only to have the bags run out quickly.
“People will grab a whole handful and by day two they are all gone,” the mayor said. “Cost is a factor.”
Hamilton suggested the city may be interested in finding volunteers to monitor and stock a dispenser at Lookout Lake.