Wildlife Photograph

Poo Prints Green Initiative

Partnering with the Poo Prints Green Initiative, Ijams is helping improve local air and water quality to create a cleaner and greener community where we live, work and play with our families and pets.

Dog Days at Ijams

Aside from being an unsighty problem, unscooped dog waste is doing a surprising amount of damage to our environment. Here are some interesting facts about dog waste and the environment:

  • On average, dog waste contains up to 23 million bacteria per gram. That is 70 times more bacteria than found in mouse waste and over a million times more than rabbit waste.
  • Bacteria from waste entering the air and water pose a significant threat to the environment. In fact, EPA places dog waste in the same health category as ail and toxic chemicals.
  • An average dog generates 276 pounds of waste each year. In the U.S. alone that is enough to fill 800 football fields one foot deep!
  • According to CNN, a medium-sized dog has twice the impact on the earth than driving a luxury SUV 10,000 miles. And that's only one dog!

Ijams will be hosting Dog Days at Ijams on Saturday, November 5 to publicly showcase this new initiative. Stay tuned for more information.

Show your support for the environment. Pick up after your pet every time you are out and join the Poo Prints Green Initiative today.

Pet Family

Making Knoxville the Pet-Friendliest City in America - one dog at a time!