I’ve been a dog person my entire entire life having had many different breeds both large and small. Recently, my wife and I adopted a beautiful little miniature dachshund (that’s right a Wiener dog!) named Mia. Now, granted, having a pet is not the most environmentally friendly choice, but they are enjoyable and so many people have pets, we should talk about a small way to reduce the negatives impacts of that ownership.

After nearly 3 months have passed since Mia entered the family, I came to a few realizations about the benefits of small dog ownership both for the owner and the environment:

1) Small dogs eat considerably less food than do large breeds. For instance, after 3 months, we are only about 3/4 of the way through our initial 20 pound bag of dog food. Consider the energy used in shipping (not to mention producing) your 20-40 lb bag of food from farmer to manufacturer to distributor to retailer to home every month for your large breed. Talk about a cost-savings for the owner as well!

2) Small dogs poop considerably less than to their larger counterparts. This includes the production of methane and ends up in a bag in the garbage making it’s way to a landfill or wherever your hauler decides to puts its garbage. Not to mention, it’s much easier picking little turds than big ones!

3) Small dogs require considerably less space to be comfortable and can be perfectly happy in a smaller apartment, home, or other place you call home. Basically, the smaller the residence, the less environmental impact on average (see the Greendex indicating lower EHI based partly on size of residence per country).

Ok, so maybe we’re stretching the significance of a small dog’s envirohuman impact but hey, let’s have a little fun with our pets and small dog people unite! Post a link below to a picture of your little green-nose!

EHI There! Tell us how you’re helping your pet improve their envirohuman impact.

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