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Queen Village Residents Take Fecal Matters Into Their Own Hands

By Cherri Gregg

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The Queen Village Neighbors Association is celebrating 30 days of successfully ridding the neighborhood of putrid piles of poop.

Queen Village is rumored to have one of the largest concentration of dog owners in the city.

So it's no surprise that doggy doo-doo became a smelly point of contention between those residents who own dogs and those who don't.

"Some dog owners were not picking up their dog poop," says Honey Pertnoy of the Queen Village Neighbors Association. She says they took the lead from Old City and launched a "Scoop the Poop" campaign last month, installing seven feces-only receptacles and doggy-doo bag dispensers.

So far, she says the air is fresher.

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Photo Credit: Cherri Gregg

"I think the community is happy with it," she says.  "The dog owners are happy with it, and it makes it easier for people to do the right thing."

Pertnoy, who owns Portuguese water dogs Ponto and Gracie, says the biggest problem is people putting trash in the waste receptacles, but the QVNA is working to fix it.

"We're designing a special lid where the only thing that you can put in the can is dog waste," she says.

When Old City launched its "Scoop the Poop" campaign a while back, a problem arose over who would clean out the waste receptacles.

Sean Mellody, co-chair of QV Canine, says Queen Village has ironed it out.

"We have some great businesses int he neighborhood who have agreed to partner with us," says Mellody, who owns a Labrador mix named Barley. "We are lucky to have a small dedicated group of individuals who are willing to deal with the mess."

He says the partners will empty out the waste containers at least twice a week, with high-traffic areas getting more attention.

"While there could be a problem of them being filled or smelly," says Mellody, "it shouldn't last but a day."

Mellody says he's hoping other neighborhoods will scoop their poop as well.

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