No, not The Tao of Pooh, really, the Tao of Poop. Yesterday Gracie (our faithful dog) and I were out taking a stroll in the neighborhood as we often do and I noticed a new sign along the way; the sign to the right. I should mention right up front Gracie produces the waste, I collect it and cart it away.
That’s the way of owning a dog in a neighborhood situation – you pack your poop around. Now, that being said, I know a number of our neighbors seem not to believe in poop take away and leave it in some poor unsuspecting neighbor’s yard to be stepped in, gardened upon, or some other distasteful interaction. And, being a home owner myself, I can understand the negative surprise of such an event in your own space.
Given these facts, I think it’s fair to say I understand, I even empathize that a neighbor is sufficiently disgusted to create a “no poop zone” around their domicile.
Here’s where it gets interesting. The presence of such signs make me want to take dear Gracie over and drop a load. It’s wrong, I know it is. I don’t do it. But it’s almost like it’s taunting me personally. So I’m wondering, what is it about us humans that we can see something we intellectually understand and we still seem to have an emotional, visceral, opposite reaction to it?
Well, Gracie and I will continue our walks. She’ll continue to poop, I’ll continue to pick it up and toss it. And, I suspect, I’ll continue to be tempted to flaunt and violate the no poop zone. But I won’t, I guess that’s just the way of dog poop…..
Too many owners do not pick up after their pets. I once witnessed someone who blatantly walked on. After being pointed out by a by-stander, he first denied being the culprit. With my collaboration with the by-stander, he stated that he did not have a bag. Only after I gave him one (left-over bag from my earlier walk), he then reluctantly cleaned up.
As you see from the entry, I do and encourage others to do so. However, I understand that experiences like yours drive people to place signs like the one above in their yards, which clearly is within their rights to do and is understandable.
I’m just saying that these signs have an unexpected negative influence on me personally, not one I’ll act upon, but is somehow so tempting…..
I’m a dog owner/lover. As a responsible pet owner, I too clean up after my dog. Lately, a neighbor has been allowing his dog to use my yard as a free-for-all poop zone and leaving the mess behind. After having poop tracked into my home no less than three times and currently counting no less than six piles in my yard, I am posting signs threatening to go to his yard with my dog. He has a 20 pound beagle; I have a 102 pound mutt. Guess who’s gonna win THIS fight!
My money is on the mutt! Good luck with that.
Greetings from the East Coast … in a local action, one condominium board has been considering establishing a DNA database of owners dogs to ascertain whodonit!!! Passing rules and regs to penalize those who don’t pickup seems excessive. But ultimately after failing to pickup one mess, a $500 fine by the Board will reinforce the “no poop zone”!!!