Dog poop pickup in Fraser

Local scoop

Fraser's backyards do the heavy lifting

Fraser dog owners have better things to do than patrol the lawn with a bag. ZIP code 48026 covers the whole city, and we scoop all of it.

City code keeps dogs out of most park areas, so most Fraser dogs do their business at home. That's the part we take off your list, on a weekly, every-other-week or twice-a-week schedule.

Where Fraser dogs roam

Fraser's parks are mostly people territory. City code keeps dogs out of park areas except parking lots, the walks right next to them, and any spot posted "Domestic Animals Permitted in this area," with a 6-foot leash required there. The city's parks plan lists no city dog park, either.

For off-leash play, neighboring Clinton Township runs a 1.5-acre fenced dog park at Civic Center Park, and non-residents can register with current vaccination records. For a longer leashed stroll, Clinton Township's George George Memorial Park winds through woods along the Clinton River. Back home, your own yard is the everyday play space, and keeping it clean is exactly what we do.

• Fraser city parks

  Dogs in posted areas only

  Code §18-40 keeps dogs to parking lots, the walks next to them, and areas signed for domestic animals, on a leash of 6 feet or less. There is no city dog park.

• Clinton Township Dog Park

  Off-leash dog park

  Next door, at Civic Center Park, 40700 Romeo Plank Road: 1.5 fenced acres. One-year membership, and non-residents can register.

• George George Memorial Park

  Leashed dogs welcome

  A 30-acre former golf course in Clinton Township, with wooded paths along the Clinton River and pond areas. Leash required; clean up after your dog.

Mature trees, hidden piles

Fraser is mostly residential and nearly built out. About 65% of homes are detached single-family houses, and about 63% were built between 1950 and 1979, per Census estimates. The city's parks plan also notes the many mature trees in the yards of single-family homes.

Mature trees mean fall leaves, and leaves are great at hiding piles, so autumn is no time to skip visits. Weekly service fits most dogs, twice a week suits multi-dog homes, and every other week can work for one small dog.

Fraser drains to the Clinton River, too

Fraser has no major river or lake inside city limits, but rain still has somewhere to go. Most storm water drops into catch basins and flows into Macomb County drains. State records show storm water from Fraser reaching the Sweeney Drain, which feeds the Harrington Drain, part of the Clinton River system that flows to Lake St. Clair.

In the state's 2008 E. coli sampling of the lower Clinton River, the Harrington Drain station averaged the highest of 25 sites, and pet waste made the list of possible sources. Fraser's own stormwater advice boils down to this: bag it and toss it.