Thirty years ago, on Aug. 1, 1978, the City of New York passed the Canine Waste Law in an effort to clean up the “littered” sidewalks.

At the time, the New York dog population was estimated to be 500,000, although the exact number is elusive because many people do not buy the required licenses for their pets. Complaints about dog feces on city sidewalks were common.

As then-Mayor Ed Koch noted, “If you’ve ever stepped in dog doo, you know how important it is to enforce the canine waste law.” The law stated that, “A person who owns, possesses or controls a dog, cat or other animal shall not permit the animal to commit a nuisance on a sidewalk of any public place.” 

The law’s effectiveness is debated, as the amount of feces on sidewalks is difficult to quantify, but most New Yorkers agree that the situation improved.



via http://www.bestfriendnyc.com/