This is a quick post to beware of the brown salt or de-icer that the Parks Dept. puts down around parks and playgrounds — two small dogs I was walking stepped in it and they lifted their paw, screaming. They were not crying or whining, but screaming, - it was heartbreaking! I brushed it off their paws as fast as I could. This product causes burning and intense pain - please avoid it and/or use boots or salve to protect dogs’ paws. I put in a complaint to the NYC Parks Department, as well as the Mayor, about this product. Why would they put that down where many people walk dogs? There are non-toxic ice melters available that everyone should use. Imagine when this product gets washed down into the sewer and eventually goes into the waterways and rivers - what destruction and suffering it must cause to the aquatic creatures, such as fish, frogs and turtles, and the birds and mammals who drink from the river! Any cat, bird, squirrel, raccoon and other animal will also get burned.