BOULDER - Patrick Murphy has been called an idiot, likened to a cruel school headmaster and prosecuted for harassment. His offense: taking a stand against dog droppings in a town where pet owners are known as guardians.

Murphy, a former Colorado Springs resident whose father worked at the Air Force Academy in the early 1960s, has videotaped people who do not clean up after their dogs. That habit got him arrested on a harassment charge this year. A jury acquitted him after 15 minutes of deliberation.

The trial cost Murphy $6,000 in legal fees.

But this man's quest for clean ground does not end there.

It is common for Murphy, a professional plant ecologist, to spend two days patrolling open space lands to document thousands of canine leavings.

Armed with a $3,500, hand-held global positioning device, Murphy, 50, has made several detailed satellite maps that mark foul-smelling mounds across Boulder.

He has presented his findings to the city to prove how bad things have become in a town where more than 25,000 dogs roam.

"The environmental impacts of dogs are not OK," Murphy said during a recent telephone interview. "You can't go into denial on this."

Boulder, like most communities, including Colorado Springs, has laws on the books that require pet owners to pick up the poop pets leave in parks.

Most offenders receive a ticket and must pay a $50 fine if they turn their back on a dog's dirty business.

"There is room for improvement," said Kurt Schroeder, a park maintenance manager for Colorado Springs, referring to the local poop issue. "We have a lot of conscientious owners, but we also have a lot of people who don't pick up after their animals."

Murphy contends the situation in Boulder has gotten out of hand. He recently marked more than 1,400 spots of trouble while surveying the debris left on a four-mile hike near his north Boulder home.

"Having dogs off-leash on native open spaces is not good," said Murphy, who has owned dogs in the past and claims to be a pet lover. "It's destructive recreation. The solution is more dog parks."

Murphy is quick to add that he does more than patrol for poop. But his hobby led to criminal charges earlier this year when he videotaped a woman who failed to clean up after her pet. He followed the woman for several blocks and reported her offense to animal control officers but found himself in trouble with the law.

Boulder authorities handcuffed Murphy and let him stew in a cell for five hours on a harassment charge. After his acquittal last July, he went back to business, but now he is a bit more discrete when it comes to videotaping people.

Murphy plans to speak before the Boulder City Council next week.

"He is not a goof," said Jennifer Bray, a Boulder spokeswoman. "We take him seriously, and we are aware of the problem. We've done education with dog owners and plan to increase enforcement of the laws."

Murphy intends to soldier on no matter what people say.

"A lot of people in Boulder think I am an idiot," he explained. "But in the last 10 days or so, the city has redoubled their efforts on enforcement."

To learn more about Murphy, check out his Web site at www.myxyz.org/phmurphy.

- Barry Bortnick covers general assignments and may be reached at (303)333-1180 or bortnick@gazette.com