Once the weather warms up and the snow disappears for good, we'll be seeing our lawns and flower beds again. And that means ... no place to hide the deposits left by the neighborhood dogs. I have no problem with dogs - love them, in fact! It's some of the humans who own them that give me paws. Pause.
It's a relatively new phenomenon to see dog-owners walking with plastic bags to scoop up the you-know-what. And most people are great about it. Thank you, thank you. But there are those dog owners who either don't scoop, or who scoop and then - unbelievable - toss or leave their bags of treasure for others to dispose of.
I can't print here how this affects me and other conscientious homeowners and gardeners who take care to plant beautiful flowers for all to enjoy. Bad enough we have to pick up butts and French fries and other junk humans leave behind. It's downright nasty to expect us to clean up after other people's dogs.
Apparently, sad to report, this is a problem in other places too. Check out www.cutthecrap.com ... "dedicated to cleaning up our world, one lawn at a time." It was started by some folks on Long Island who'd had it with their thoughtless neighbors. They sell lawn signs that, if nothing else, will make you laugh. How about "Thanks. But we've already fertilized" or "Kids at Play...Keep Poop Away."
I fenced my entire property to keep the humans in check and now some toss their little baggies inside the fence. Trust me. It's lousy fertilizer! But the problem is bigger than my cranky ramblings. When it rains, dog waste ends up in our waterways, bringing with it all sorts of bad stuff to make us sick and pollute our water.
I hate to think that anything even remotely associated with such loving and lovely creatures - dogs, not humans! - could be responsible for this. But responsible is the operative word here. That's us.
