Scoop the Poop 2007 Survey

In January of 2007, the Scoop the Poop Committee conducted an online survey to gather baseline data on the current habits and understanding of dog owners and non-dog owners in Anchorage. The idea of gathering this information was to hopefully repeat the survey in future years to determine if the educational component of the Scoop the Poop Program has affected people’s habits and understanding of dog waste care in Anchorage. To encourage people to take the survey, one side of the AWWU mailer looked like a check, with the incentive that three people who took the survey would be randomly selected to get their AWWU water billed paid for one month, up to $100. Amazingly, over 1,600 people took the survey!

Of the 1,593 people that took the survey…

• ·       49.5% people don’t have a dog
• ·       33.5% people have one dog
• ·       12.8% people have two dogs
• ·        3.3% people have three dogs
  ·        0.5% people have four dogs
• ·        0.3% people have five or more dogs

 

Of the 810 people that do have at least one dog…

 

Their dog usually goes to the bathroom: (810 total responses)

·         82.8% of dogs go in a fenced in yard

·         7.4% of dogs go when their owners walk them

·         5.7% of dogs go somewhere else

·         Other dogs go in the house, wandering in the neighborhood, at the local dog park or on the trails by their owner’s house

 

They clean up their dog’s waste at home: (810 total responses)

·         34.8% clean up once a week

·         23.2% clean up daily

·         12.7% clean up once a month

·         7% clean up once a season

·         1% never clean up their dog’s waste

·         11.1% clean at other increments

 

When they are away from home, they pick up after their dogs:

(808 total responses)

·         64.2% pick up their dog’s poop all of the time

·         23.6% pick up their dog’s poop most of the time

·         5.7% pick up their dog’s poop occasionally

·         3.6% never pick up their dog’s poop

·         2.8% rarely pick up their dog’s poop

 

When they are away from home, they bring their own poop bag:

(807 total responses)

·         63.4% bring a poop bag all the time

·         23% bring a poop bag most of the time

·         6.2% occasionally bring a poop bag

·         4.6% never bring a poop bag

·         2.7% rarely bring a poop bag

 

People use the waste bags provided at the “Scoop the Poop Kiosks”: (808 total responses)

·         28% never use the bags provided at the kiosks

·         22.9% occasionally use the bags provided at the kiosks

·         22.3% rarely use the bags provided at the kiosks

·         20.2% don’t know what a “Scoop the Poop Kiosk” is

·         3.6% use the bags provided at the kiosks most of the time

·         3.1% use the bags provided at the kiosks all of the time

            *these results provide an opportunity to create more kiosks and a greater outreach program*

 

People usually dispose of their dog waste by: (808 total responses)

·         53.8% bag it, take it home, put it in the trash can

·         35.8% bag it, dispose of it in the park’s trash can

·         3.3% bag it, take it home, flush it down the toilet

·         2.4% bag it, take it home, compost it

·         1.6% kick or throw it into the bushes

·         3.1% do something else with it

 

People are most likely to pick up after their dogs: (801 total responses)

·         94.4% in the summer

·         76.9% in the spring

·         76.1% in the fall

·         63.4% in the winter

*these results provide an opportunity to focus the program on winter poop removal*

 

Of the 1,593 people that took the survey, both dog owners and non-dog owners…

 

People that agree with the statement, “Dog poop is a problem in Anchorage.” (1,580 total responses)

·         45.8% agree strongly with this statement

·         38.8% agree somewhat with this statement

·         8.3% are not sure if they agree or not with this statement

·         5.9% disagree somewhat with this statement

·         1.4% disagree stongly

*these results show that most people in Anchorage believe that dog poop is a problem in the city*

 

People in Anchorage think that the poop that isn’t picked up ultimately:

(1577 total responses)

·         51.3% think that the poop gets washed into the storm drains that flow directly to the creeks

·         27.5% think that the poop seeps into the ground

·         10.7% don’t know

·         6.4% think that the poop quickly biodegrades

·         0.4% think that the city maintenance crew picks it up

·         3.7% think something else happens to the poop that isn’t picked up

*these results show that an awareness component of where the poop goes could benefit this program*

 

People that agree with the following statement, “Pet waste is a source of bacteria for nearby water bodies.” (1,577 total responses)

·         60.9% agree strongly with this statement

·         31.3% agree somewhat with this statement

·         5.3% are not sure with this statement

·         2.1% disagree somewhat with this statement

·         0.4% disagree strongly with this statement

 

People that think the following statement is TRUE or FALSE, “Anchorage’s storm water is directed to a water treatment facility before it flows to the creeks.” (1,577 total responses)

·         80.4% think that the statement is FALSE

·         19.6% think that the statement is TRUE

*these results show that the program should focus on the fact that there is no storm water treatment, and that the poop flows directly to the creeks*

 

People see dog owners pick up after their dogs: (1,577 total responses)

·         52.1% see people pick up their dog’s poop occasionally

·         24.9% see people pick up their dog’s poop rarely

·         18.5% see people pick up their dog’s poop most of the time

·         4.3% never see people pick up their dog’s poop

·         0.3% see people pick up their dog’s all of the time

 

People see dog owners pick up after dogs they don’t own: (1,577 total responses)

·         53.1% never see people pick up another dog’s poop

·         31.3% rarely see people pick up another dog’s poop

·         13.4% occasionally see people pick up another dog’s poop

·         2% see people pick up another dog’s poop most of the time

·         0.2% see people pick up another dog’s poop all of the time

 

Demographics of people who took the survey: (1,575 total responses)

      GENDER

·         57.2% were women

·         42.8% were men

 

      AGE

·         38.7% were between 36 to 50

·         33.4% were between 51 to 65

·         17.6% were between 26 to 35

·         8.3% were older than 65

·         2% were younger than 25

People who took the survey receive most of their news from:

·         74.8% Anchorage Daily News (ADN)

·         70.9% news on television

·         52% internet

·         27.1% word of mouth/co-workers/friends

·         25.7% National Public Radio (NPR)

·         20.8% AM Radio News

·         6% other newspaper

·         4.8% other

*these results show that we should focus our media outreach towards the ADN and television*