If you saw me walking around my neighborhood on a recent weekend morning with my dog and an empty six-pack of beer, it wasn’t because I was hammered and needed Katniss to guide me home.
The empty six-pack was found on the side of the road; I used it to pick up a “gift” from Katniss, number two* of our walk. I had already used the lone bag I was carrying for her first “gift,” so my options were limited. But I wanted to be a good neighbor and pick up after her—and, I’ll admit, there are times when I forget to bring a bag, which makes me feel like a hypocrite. As you can see from the photos taken throughout my neighborhood within about 24 hours or so, however, not everyone gives a crap about doing their part. That, and some Austinites are passive-aggressive. But that’s just the view from my stool.
There are many dog walkers in the area who do do their part to clean up, but the problem seems to be getting worse. It’s not fun when I mow my lawn, for example, and step in another dog’s—maybe a husky’s, maybe a shih tzu’s—“gifts” even though I try to manure the mower carefully about the yard. What’s worse, there’s a nearby park that dogs seem to love to give “gifts” in, and I’m sure parents taking the kids to the pool don’t appreciate people and their canines making the place look like a dump.
I think our neighborhood needs to fight the problem by installing pet waste bag dispensers throughout the area. Some people might poo-poo the idea as being too expensive, but it’s why we pay our homeowners association dues, right? Still, as bad as the problem seems to be, people changing their ways seems about as likely as a coach taking the Browns to the Super Bowl this year.
Katniss, for the record, even left a third “gift” for me on that same walk. She was on quite a streak. By the end of her walk, she was pooped.
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*The first of many poop-related puns—see if you can catch them all!
A Guero and His Perro 