WEST PLAINS, Mo. — The city of West Plains and the West Plains Downtown Revitalization group are reminding visitors to the downtown square to clean up after their four-legged friends.
Complaints about animal waste being left around the square from people walking their pets have been received from concerned citizens, and the WPDR group is asking people to bring small sandwich bags, plastic grocery store bags, or other ways to pick up waste.
“Although we want to encourage everyone to come and visit downtown, we do ask that all pets be on leashes, and to please clean up after them,” WPDR President Jeremy Nicholas, who also owns a business downtown, said in a statement. “The square is a wonderful place to visit, but this is also a business district, and people do live here. We just ask people to be respectful and to help us keep the area clean.”
City officials say there isn’t a particular city ordinance mandating cleaning up pet waste, but that may be explored in the future.