Many people in Picayune enjoy walking their dogs.

It’s a good way to get exercise and a good way to get outside for a little fresh air.

What the dogs leave behind, though, becomes a problem for other people. They step in it, have to detour around it, have to constantly be on the lookout to avoid it.

It’s a particular problem for people in whose yards some dogs do their business. Even people who have dogs of their own don’t enjoy stepping in it, especially that of other people’s dogs.

Picayune needs to become one of those cities that requires people to pick up after their dogs.

Many cities require dog owners pick up after their dogs. Mayor Ed Koch caused quite an uproar in New York City in 1978 when he began enforcing an ordinance that became known as the “pooper scooper” law.

Since then many other cities have begun enforcing such laws. In Miami, for instance, there are coin-operated dispensers selling poop bags for collecting the poop along some city streets in residential areas of the city. Many stores, especially those catering to pet owners, sell the bags and dispensers that can be attached to the leash or to the owner’s belt.

Here in Picayune at least one store also sells the bags and dispensers. For those who don’t want to purchase bags, there are always the plastic shopping bags used by most stores today.

Yes, we know some people don’t obey the leash law, but that’s another problem and the city does have a dog catcher.

Any fines collected from those who disobey the law could be used to help fund the animal shelter