SEATTLE - Woodland Park Zoo’s Fall Fecal Fest is on the horizon. The annual Fall and Spring Fecal Fests offer you a chance to purchase a load of that rich, multi-species feces known as Zoo Doo. Due to Zoo Doo’s ever-increasing popularity and in response to jammed phone lines during past Fecal Fests, Dr. Doo is changing the call-in orders to a mail-in system only.

Candidates have through September 5 to mail in their request. This is how it works. Send a 3"x5" notecard or standard postcard to: Zoo Doo, Woodland Park Zoo, 5500 Phinney Ave. N., Seattle, WA 98103. Only one entry per person will be accepted. Include the following information:

• name
• day/evening phone numbers
• amount of Zoo Doo you’d like (anything from a garbage bag to a full-size pick-up truck load)
• weekday or weekend preference for pick-up

Pick-up dates will begin October 1. Phone orders will not be taken. Dr. Doo will draw approximately 250 entries. He will notify the winners only. If you do not receive a phone call by September 30, Dr. Doo hopes you’ll try again for the Spring Fecal Fest. The Fecal Fests traditionally sell out. And remember, you load your Zoo Doo yourself, using shovels the zoo provides.

Prices for pick-up trucks are 8x4 bed $50; 6x4 bed $40; 6x3 bed $35. Garbage cans are $6 to $10, and bags $3 to $6 depending on size. Limit one full truck per person. Two-gallon and pint-sized buckets also are available in the ZooStore for $10.95 and $2.95, respectively, along with Zoo Doo T-shirts.

Dr. Doo, who counts on all of the zoo’s non-primate herbivores for his raw materials, handcrafts the 100% organic compost. Zebras, giraffes and many other exotic animals contribute, but none as much as the prolific elephants, which each put forth some 40 to 45 tons per year of their piquant pachyderm poop. The finished Zoo Doo is perfect for nearly all types of gardening and is thoroughly composted and completely safe to handle.

For more information on how to order, call the poop line at (206) 625-POOP