Before kids my baby was a Miniature Schnauzer named Schnapps. I would walk him on my Brookhaven street and never even thought of bringing a scoop bag with me. I don’t even think they made them back then! Well…this was only a problem if he did his business (#1 or #2) in one particular yard. We avoided that yard like the plague because I did not want to be yelled at by the man who HATED for dogs to even step foot in his yard. I didn’t understand this until years later when I was walking my then 4th grader to Vanderlyn and he stepped in the smelliest PILE of #2 that someone failed to remove from the SIDEWALK. We tried to get it off with leaves and pine straw and scraping it on the curb and even went to the gym to hose it off. Alas, I had to send him on to school and come back immediately with a clean pair of shoes so that he didn’t have to carry that odor around with him all day long.
Kids change your perspective on things. Being a dog owner also changes your perspective. I personally think that my life is exponentially better because of my kids and my dog! However, I like to think I have empathy for all types of people who are different from me. But, I was starting to doubt my level of empathy when I became overly angry upon finding horse sized poo on the SIDEWALK in front of my dog-less widow neighbor’s home. I personally don’t think anyone should have to tolerate dog poo ON the sidewalk! Unfortunately it happens a few times per week and in all shapes and sizes. I live on a busy pedestrian friendly corner with sidewalks lining both sides of my property. It is not an exaggeration to say that hundreds of kids and parents (and dogs) walk on this sidewalk on their way to Vanderlyn, Dunwoody High and also to catch the bus to Peachtree every week in front of my home.
Anyway….I actually picked up that ginormous poo with one of my extra bags and tried not to vomit as I carried it down the street and put it in my own trashcan. I then walked straight into the house and Googled “Why don’t people pick up after their dogs poop?”. I found so many interesting, informative, and humorous articles and commentary and voila…our Aha! Survey was born! Following are a few articles that I thought may interest you:
10 Reasons to Pick up Your Dog Poop
Three ways to solve the dog poop problem | Cesar Millan
Local community to use DNA kits to track dog poop
Dog Poop Management – PooPrints
In summary, after all this poop research and evaluating the survey responses I’m happy to report that the MAJORITY of people will pick up their dog’s poo…especially if it is in a pedestrian path. I hope nobody gets bent out of shape over any of it because after all…life is short and we are all bound to step in poo or gum or something else gross one day or another. Let’s just hope that after reading all this people are less likely to leave poo on the sidewalk or in places where kids run around in the grass and play!
Great topic. In addition to cleaning up the sidewalk people need to make sure they also clean up after their dog poops on other peoples yards. There have been NUMEROUS times when I have found poop on my front yard. I don’t have a dog so its definitely from people walking their dog past our house. I shouldn’t have to clean up after someone else, nor should I have to warn my kids about playing in the front yard because there is poop on it.