BALLARD: For several months, residents of a quiet Ballard street have been plagued by poop. On Northwest 58th Street—between 22nd and 20th avenues—nearly a dozen large piles of turds dot the parking strips and sidewalks, and there's ample evidence of dookie, now marked by smeared shoe prints along the street.

Last weekend, an anonymous neighbor began posting signs around the block, in protest of the prodigious brown mounds.

"It's a minefield," says Tom Simpson, a 15-year resident of 58th Street. Simpson and his neighbors have speculated about the cause, and whether certain houses or apartment buildings are being targeted, and some residents have even debated whether the culprit is canine or human.

"It's disgusting and unsafe," says Sylvia, who's lived on 58th Street for the last five years. Sylvia (who did not give her last name) says she sees lots of dogs in the neighborhood, and speculates that the problem may be coming from a nearby 35-unit apartment complex where, she says, every resident in the building has "two or three dogs."

Simpson walks his three dogs—a Pekingese, a pug, and a chow, none capable of leaving such massive dog deposits—around the neighborhood every day, and he says this is the worst it's ever been. "[There are piles] even I couldn't leave behind," Simpson says.

Simpson estimates the problem has been going on for a month or two, but it seems to have gotten better in the last few days. "Maybe the signs did some good," he says.

Another older man, who's lived in the neighborhood for 30 years, told The Stranger he believes the poop problem can be attributed to a large rottweiler, which, he says, freely roams the neighborhood.

According to Don Jordan, director of the Seattle Animal Shelter, the city can fine pet owners $54 for failing to scoop their animals' poop. Additionally, property owners must remove animal feces every 24 hours or risk being fined. Jordan did not specifically address the situation in Ballard, but said that it's not uncommon for people to leave behind their animals' waste. "It's a societal issue," he says. "You walk along any sidewalk [and] you're generally going to come across some feces."

Poop complaints can be made by calling Seattle Animal Shelter at 386-PETS.