Here’s the Scoop: Added Cleanups, New Signs for Dog Beach

San Diego city officials will increase the frequency of cleanups and post large signs explaining regulations at Dog Beach after complaints about owners failing to clean up after their dogs, a member of the Ocean Beach Town Council’s Dog Beach committee said Wednesday.

Dog Beach, at the northern tip of Ocean Beach, is one of two city beaches where dogs are allowed to run without a leash. The other is Fiesta Island.

The city has agreed to provide daily trash pickup on weekdays and weekly beach raking May through September, said committee member Eileen Histen. Two signs outlining the rules governing dogs’ use of the beach were put up Wednesday; another is planned.

Raking Done Monthly

Trash had been picked up two to three days a week, and raking had been done monthly year-round before the change, Histen said. Earlier, the city had put out more trash cans and so-called “pooper scoopers.”

After a forum about the problem last month, the county Department of Health Services told the city that Dog Beach represented a health hazard to humans as well as dogs and asked the city to enforce rules requiring owners to clean up after their dogs. Owners not doing so can be fined up to $48 for the first offense.

Terri Carroll, Park and Recreation Department deputy director for the coastal division, said she expects owners to heed the rules, adding that similar appeals have worked well in other communities.

Times staff writer Michael Granberry contributed to this story.