Fido Makes It - You Take It!

Our neighborhood is usually very quiet. Maybe an occasional pool party or the sonic boom from a jet descending into Newark airport can bring some life to our block but for the most part it’s a sleepy suburbia. You would have thought differently if you could hear the commotion that went on yesterday.

 A woman, who lives down the street from me, walks dogs for folks on our block. Yesterday she was in the process of taking one of her charges for a stroll. The dog chose to stop and relieve himself on the curb across the street. The dog walker dutifully (or doodifully) picked up the poop with a bag. She then proceeded to take her stinky little package down the driveway of our neighbor’s home. There she dropped the odorous goods into his garbage can in the back of his house.

This did not go unseen. Nope …our good neighbors were out in full force that day and yelled at her to retrieve her package. Why did she think that was okay to do? Trespassing and leaving dog doo in someone’s trash?! It may be a chargeable offense in this state!?  She ran back to her house and that was probably the last we will see of her on this end of the block, at least for a good long while. Now while I must note here, I commend her for picking up after the pooch, it certainly takes a lot of chutzpah to dispose of it in someone’s backyard!

 We were all out there afterwards, discussing the dog dookie incident, as it will forever be referred to. It brought up tales of other dog owner offenses.

For instance there are the people who attempt the poop-and run-with their dogs. They either forgot a bag or had no intention of picking it up in the first place. Or the ones who let their doggies on people’s lawns to relieve themselves while they look the other way and whistle nonchalantly, all the while looking you in the eye and asking you if the Yankees won that day!

Indeed, there are a lot of canine owners out there that have perfected ways of not having to scoop the poop.

 I am lucky that our English Bulldog Ozzie uses our backyard as his personal throne. Not that I don’t have to harvest the little kabobs that he leaves randomly over what once was a cultivated, thriving lawn. (Wait let me clarify that the kabobs are not that little!) Ozzie is at least totally innocent of leaving any neighborhood offerings behind. Oh yes there was that one time he pooped in our neighbor’s house but that is a story for another day!