You would think that picking up after one’s dog is a no-brainer.
Apparently, some dog owners never found their brains - or they’ve confused their brains with their bowels.
At some point, we will all see a disrespectful dog-walker trot away from a pile his pal dumped on the sidewalk or the lawn. Some of us will speak up; others will seethe in silence.
And you know it’s just a matter of time before someone with a dog-vendetta mashes into a fresh mound, possibly triggering a trail of poisoned pets.
Okay, so sue me for defecation of character. I’m tired of it - and so are you.
Fantasies of scofflaws being swallowed up by giant poop bags, then tumbling down the street to the nearest landfill are fun, but not functional. So what’s the next not-so-gingerly-taken step?
We could choose to politely or sternly get in the person’s face and recite the facts as we understand them:
- Twenty plus years ago, the EPA judged dog poop to be on par with toxic chemicals and oil.
- A single gram of pet waste is teeming with 23 million fecal coliform bacteria which can cause serious kidney disease and intestinal illness in humans.
- The U.S. Center for Disease Control has confirmed that pet waste can harbor parasites including worms and salmonella. Parasite eggs from decomposing feces can take root in the ground and cause disease in unsuspecting pets and humans years after the poop has disappeared.
- Accidentally ingested roundworm larvae can cause brain, lung, kidney, liver, heart and eye disease.
- Dog poop is the third leading cause of water pollution. Feces can be ferried from your lawn by overland water flow and washed into storm drains, ending up in far away streams, rivers and ground water.
If science fails, we could allude to how they might feel if we came over and crapped on their lawn!
Unfortunately, neither logic nor duress is likely to work. Per one survey cited by ilovedogs.com, 40% of American dog owners do not scoop up their dog’s poop; 44% of those respondents would not do so, even if asked.
What to do?
Lead by example.
That’s right, whip out a poop bag and be big enough to stoop so low to show them how its done!
You’re not going to change them, but you may just startle them out of their entitled minds. In the end, though, you’re not doing it for them; you’re doing it for you - for us.
We live in a world where, eventually, each of us is faced with having to clean up someone else’s mess. That could mean anything from tidying your kid’s room to sweeping away the deleterious policies of a former administrator.
There’s no escaping this reality whether we catch that “mess” in the moment or after the fact.
When it comes to scoopin’ the scat, it is just as meaningful to act alone as with an audience.
Rescue Legacy offers this challenge: pick up just ONE poop a week that does not belong to your dog. Preferably one that’s looks like its been fermenting for a day or two as these are the most noxious. See how you feel about your neighborhood and the part that you play in keeping it scenic, civil and sanitary.
But if you want to indulge a secret fantasy, give yourself a treat and watch Rescue Legacy’s upcoming music video, The Turd Is the Wurd, scheduled for release around the new year.
NOW whose checking the soles of their shoes!