Animal Welfare Professionals

Hi,

I am wondering how other shelters remove dog waste (specifically feces) from kennels and runs after the routine morning cleaning is done. Right now we are using a fireplace ash shovel and a bucket full of bleach/dawn water. Staff scoop poop with the shovel into these buckets and then at the end dump the entire contents down an open drain hole. I would like to move toward using a trash bag and regular poop scoop but have a surprising amount of attachment to the current method. So that leads me to- what do you guys do? Thank you for any insight.

#EducationandTraining
#Medicine,SurgeryandSterilization

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Lauren Pavlik
Assistant Animal Care Supervisor
Frederick County Animal Control
MD
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We switched from a similar ash shovel/bucket method to using a regular poop scoop with a trash bag liner in a small bin. It's faster, reduces splashing bleach water, and cuts down on odor since waste is bagged immediately. Some shelters also use hose-attached pooper scoopers for runs or even pressure washers with a collection system.

Change is hard-we held onto our old method way longer than we should've! But the trash bag system ended up being a game-changer for efficiency. Curious to hear what others suggest, too!

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CM Mishir
Blogger
Caremypet
Los Angeles
https://www.caremypet.org/
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For normal "spot cleaning," we would use a poop bag to pick up the poop and throw it in the garbage. If residue is left behind, that gets wiped up with a paper towel (Rescue can also be used as a detergent in this step if needed). Then we disinfect with Rescue. In this context, Rescue solution is being applied using a hand-held spray bottle.

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James Pawlowicz
Humane Rescue Alliance
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For years, we were trench composting. Our rescue is a small rural foster based organization with most of the dogs fostered on my property. We had a local backhoe operator, dig up long deep trench, and we would rake the kennels and let the waste sit in the sun For a week and let the UV kill the bacteria before putting it in the trench along with yard, waste like leaves and shrubs. We also use the trench for burying animals that don't remain on this earth. So it was a multipurpose trench. I unfortunately have an unpleasant neighbor who filed a complaint with the county. So we now use compost bins. The irony, of course, is that the result,, depending on the type of bin, is exactly the same. Some of the bins are rotational Tumblr types, but the main recycling bin isn't open round then it has no bottom. It has a tarp for a cover so it's basically an above ground trench lol I'm not sure how to describe it. The complaint was that trenching. The dog waste was contaminating our well water. It does not, but that didn't seem to matter. If you can scoop it and bag it and toss it in the trash I recommend that over this! What's the waste is composted with kitchen scraps and leaves it just gets spread out on the ground to dry out and become part of the dirt. It could be used as a supplement in a non-food garden. But that's just more work. We thought about bagging it and using it as a fundraiser, but most of what people grow here are vegetables so it can't be used for that.

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JUDITH PEARSON
President
The Dixon Animal Protection Society
NM
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We actually use a septic system that is pumped regularly. There are drains in the kennels that everything is hosed into and have a flush out valve at the end of the cleanings we turn it on and let it run for about 10 minutes or so. 

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Heaven Dempski
Animal Behaviorist
Devore Animal Shelter
CA
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We take the dogs out multiple times each day and spot clean whenever they go outside. We use poop bags and lined trash cans. We also mop with rescue. Our play yards get cleaned after every round and we empty all the trash cans to the dumpster at the end of the day. On Sundays we deep clean all the kennels with rescue and bleach the play yards.

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Stefanie Schmidt
Animal Welfare Specialist
Hearts Alive Village
NV
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