Mount Airy is making it easier to keep downtown pet-friendly by installing poop bag stations on trash cans so pet owners can pick up after their furry four-legged friends.

“We’re trying to show everyone that we are a pet-friendly town, there are a lot of people traveling with pets and people walking downtown and sometimes pets can’t hold it,” said Claudia Stowers, who’s on a committee with the Downtown Business Association (DBA) that is organizing the project.

The DBA is partnering with Downtown Merchants Inc. (DMI) on the project, and the city is helping to install the poop bag stations on trash cans throughout the downtown area. Businesses with the DBA will sponsor the poop bag stations and be responsible for refilling the stations with bags.

“Our main goal is to make downtown more pet-friendly,” said B.J. Easter, the owner of Froo Froo Pet Boutique on North Main Street and who is also part of the committee. “We’re working on sponsorships for businesses. Each DBA business will be able to sponsor a station and be responsible for refilling the station and maintaining it. The city is helping put the stations on trash cans. Hopefully, they will be up within the next couple of next weeks.”

So far the DBA has garnered 12 sponsorships and is planning to have 23 poop bag stations in total by the end of the summer.

Brandt Scholz is the president of the DBA and the owner of B&L Jewelers on North Main Street. He said the project started a year ago when the organizations decided to do something about the issue of pet owners not cleaning up behind animals and more people bringing their pets in to town.

“Mount Airy has always said we are pet-friendly, yet we didn’t offer services for people to bring pets downtown, which meant that there are a lot of surprises on the sidewalk for people,” said Brandt Scholz. “The DMI has been gracious enough to supply money to purchase the initial units.

“In the midst of getting arrangements, the city offered to help mount them throughout downtown,” he added.

He said with the help of the DMI, the city and sponsorships, the project has “total community involvement.”

“There are ‘no dogs allowed’ signs posted downtown, and by having the pooper doopers we hope we can take the signs down,” Easter said.

Contact Erin C. Perkins at eperkins@mtairynews.com or 719-1952.