A suggestion for keeping dog waste off Maine’s beaches | Letter

“It’s a dog park!” the woman yelled as her dog ran from the beach growling and barking at me. Dogs are beautiful and loving. Most owners take remarkable care of them. They even pick up their droppings. But they cannot pick up urine as it seeds the beach for young children’s bare feet. Even worse, when babies put their hands in their mouths.

On that day I took a 10-minute survey — only 20% of dog walkers were barefooted. Willard Beach is moving the children’s playground to the side of the building where fewer dogs will urinate on its poles.

How does the adjoining community college protect it’s cleat-wearing students from dog droppings but a whole city cannot protect its beach-walking, barefooted children?

Willard Beach is not a chicken/egg dilemma; it’s a scientific, common-sense, time-to-change problem. With so many changes happening in 2026, let us inaugurate a change that benefits the entire community and the diseased ocean: No dogs on any beach in Maine.

Aurelie Bald
South Portland

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