Researchers determine how much 'dog doo' is hiding in Calgary parks

Just under a kilogram per hectare per week is left behind in Calgary's 8,500 hectares of park lands - that's the find of a recently published study.

In short - it's a lot.

Just under a kilogram per hectare per week is left behind in Calgary's 8,500 hectares of park lands - that's the find of a recently published study.

"When you translate it into the total mass in kilograms for six months, it can go up to let's say, about 1,400 kilograms in offleash parks," said study author Alessandro Massolo, a professor in the department of biology at the University of Pisa.

The field work was conducted by Massolo about a decade ago when he was teaching at University of Calgary's faculty of veterinary medicine.

He says the concern is for contamination of water and the possible spread of parasites.

"So all these potential pathogens, they can infect wildlife or other dogs or even people in some cases," Massolo said, but admits there haven't been any specific tests on the feces.

However, he praised the City of Calgary's pet ownership bylaws, saying that the solution comes from the city's roughly 130,000 dog owners themselves.