Careful Where You Step—These 20 Cities Have the Most Dog Poop

Nothing ruins a stroll through the neighborhood like the feeling of dog poop beneath your sneaker. In a perfect world, every dog owner would clean up after their pet, but many of them forget the bags and poop scoopers at home and leave unsuspecting pedestrians to deal with the mess. Some places are notorious when it comes to this nasty form of pollution. To see which cities' streets contain the most neglected waste, check out the list below.

The pet insurance comparison site Protect My Paws determined the dog-poop capitals of America by analyzing Tweets containing relevant keywords, including "stepped in poo," "poo bag," and "dog fouling." The U.S. city most likely to complain about dog droppings is Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Residents there shared the greatest proportion of Tweets related to unwanted gifts left behind by their canine neighbors. This is in spite of strict laws in the metro area forbidding pet defecation on public property.

The second-worst place for dog poop is Seattle in Washington State. It's followed by Atlanta, Georgia, and San Francisco, California. Dog owners refusing to take care of their pets' business is a widespread issue, however. Some places have taken drastic measures to curb the problem; a DNA testing company in Wisconsin held dog owners accountable by analyzing their abandoned waste, and the Hoboken Police Department in New Jersey launched an undercover operation to catch pet owners who refused to scoop poop.

If you go for a walk in any of the cities listed below, just remember to look down every five to 10 seconds.

1. Pittsburgh, PA
2. Seattle, WA
3. Atlanta, GA
4. San Francisco, CA
5. Buffalo, NY
6. Norfolk, VA
7. Austin, TX
8. New Orleans, LA
9. Washington, D.C.
10. Minneapolis, MN

H/T: Protect My Paws