Dog waste denial

[wsea98116]

Is it acceptable to dislike having every public green space, tree, and planting strip in town covered in stinking dog urine and parasite infected feces? I personally find it disgusting. My daughters bus stop (which happens to be a lovely grassy planting strip with two Japanese Maples and a telephone pole, in front of a very well maintained home) is so urine soaked and crap smeared, that I don’t dare let her venture off the concrete, or touch the trees or pole. Will dog owners ever admit that delivering/spraying fresh animal waste to all our community gathering areas is at best a disservice to all others? Why do you have to bring your dog to my house to crap? Picking up MOST solid waste is still leaving a lot of waste, isn’t it? Try this- next time you visit the bathroom, avoid the toilet and do ALL your business on the floor- then, perform a light pick up with a plastic bag. Is that nice? Now, have your dog do this outside all your neighbors homes and businesses, everyday, forever.

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[acemotel]

You will spend a lot of time worrying if this is your main concern, wsea98116! Think about all the raccoons, coyotes, cats, birds – in fact, all of god’s creatures who have to poop and pee. Do you have another suggestion? Potty training all of wildlife? Sheeeesh.

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[wsea98116]

This is not my main concern. Is your concern about my concern your main concern? Probably not.

I don’t see the relevance of the wildlife poop situation you pose- people don’t bring their wildlife to very concentrated urban common areas, for the sole purpose of elimination.

It’s not even remotely similar.

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[JanS]

wsea98116….where would you suggest an animal, in this case a dog, go when out on a walk in the city?

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[2 Much Whine]

Diapers and corks for everyone!

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[wsea98116]

Now you’re talking- diapers and corks sounds good to me! And we’re not talking about any other animals- just pet dogs. Imagine going to a park, and playing on gras- or sitting on a bench that doesn’t smell like a toilet.

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[mark47n]

Given your topic title, I’d say you’re the one that’s in denial, especially if you believe this is new. Folks around these parts have had dogs for a long, long time and are here to stay.

That said, nothing rxcusr the owner from cleaning up the poop. I have a neighbor who always allowed her dog to poop in my parking strip. I called her on it once and she looked at me like I was insane. I then did the neighborly thing; i bagged up the poop went to ber house and returned it. I’venot seen her leaving poop in my yard again.

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[Northwest]

I am much more concerned with cigarette butt litter and take a proactive approach and engage with smokers occasionally about the hazards of it and how our storm drain system here in Puget Sound drains directly into our local waters. I even at times give out pocket sized plastic film containers and ask that they pledge to use it. The response is mixed some seem offended while others seem to take it very positively. I come to each as a smoker which I did for years .

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[valvashon]

Thank you wsea98116! Also not OK: putting your bagged doggie waste in my garbage can. I don’t have a dog so I don’t have dog sh*t in my can, OK? When I do find it in there (I practically have to run out after the garbage has been picked up- otherwise I get a little present in my tiny can if I leave it out for a day) I toss it into the street. Gives the original depositer a chance to pick it back up and dispose of it properly. If and when a certain neighbor moves I’m putting up “No dog business” signs on my boulevard strip. I’ve let the neighbor situation go on too long to do anything about it, but that doesn’t mean the rest of you get to use my lawn for your dog’s business!

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[KBear]

Wow, Valvashon, what a great way to passive-aggressively flout the law! No dog of your own, but you still manage to litter your neighborhood with poo.

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[wsea98116]

You know how some things start under past social norms, or at an acceptable level, and become customary- but then morph into something altogether different? Like tossing spent cigs. In the past, cigarette butts were discarded where they were smoked, and weren’t considered litter (by smokers, anyway). But butts are trash! The problem is, it’s always been done this way, so get over it, right?! (No, it’s still litter..)

People imposing their dogs on others is another situation that started out at a tolerable rate of occurrence, but has gotten way out of hand! It’s not new, but it was never like this before! When I was a kid, we left our dogs at home, and they were happy to see us return. The only person that took their dog downtown, or out to dinner, was Zsa Zsa Gabor! And nobody picked up dog poop, but it didn’t matter- because volume was low, and the impact negligible. But now, everyone has dogs, and they wouldn’t dare visit the dentist/hardware store/coffee shop without them! Suddenly people cried- there’s too much crap! So, owners were forced to make a cursory attempt at picking up the crap. But, that doesn’t always work for a variety of reasons, and- there’s still too much crap! And just like cigarette butts are litter- poop is poop, and pee is pee (even from a dog). If I walked by your house every day, and pissed on your mailbox- you’d lose your mind! If I took a dump in front of Starbucks, and then (hopefully) picked up most of it in a plastic baggie- they’d have me arrested, and then have crime scene cleaners in hazmat suits dispatched to remove the planter boxes!! And rightly so- because pee is pee, and butts are litter, and what was once manageable (like service dogs assisting disabled people), has spiraled wildly out of control.

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[JKB]

Let’s make some lemonade! All the offleash dogpooping people have set a precedent – it’s like voting – to the effect that those pesky laws can just be ignored. Okay!

I think some things don’t apply to me too, like those speed limit rules. Vroom, and if I don’t actually hit anyone there’s no harm done.

And you know, I’m kind of hungry. Maybe I’ll go to the store and pick up some food. No reason to pay, because we all need to eat. Surely that trumps those silly rules.

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[Smitty]

I’m with you val…..hang onto your bag of poop until you get home or don’t own a dog.

That said, I have a very good friend who is one of the most respectful people I have ever met. Ever. She was dumbfounded when someone ran out of their home to confront her after she deposited a bag of poop in their garbage can. It never even crossed her mind that it would be considered objectionable.

I would guess that half the people actually think they are doing the neighborhood a service by using YOUR trash can (instead of leaving it, I guess)! Similar to the “you are lucky I only punched you in the face, I could have shot you!” mentality.

People are raised differently, I guess – it’s often not intentional.

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[wsea98116]

Hey Smitty- is dog poop recyclable? Does anyone living around here not know the difference between a giant city recycling container (labeled RECYCLING on all sides), and a garbage can? No. Do local dog owners put dog poop in their own recycling containers? No. Why, then, did I find TWO bags of dog poop in my recycling bin when I retrieved it on Monday? Was this an accident? NO! This is willful and intentional disregard! This action says- “I don’t want to carry around my dogs crap, and I’d really rather you deal with it. I know this is a CRAPPY thing to do, so if no ones watching- I’ll just drop it in your recycling container, or the back of your pickup, or just leave it where it was laid, and now you can do something with it! Btw- isn’t my dog super-cool?! This breed really accents my rugged individualism..”

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[JoB]

easy rule

don’t do unto others what you don’t want done to you

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[mark47n]

I recognize your frustration with bad dog owners/walkers and their disposal of the poop. However, you and the rest of the ranters are beginning to paint with a pretty broad brush. There are plenty of reprobates around here that mishandle waste but their number is small and you simply can’t battle individuals, short of catching them one at a time. You may hate it – I hate finding that little blue bag in my recycling bin – but your best solution is to not leave it out. Having lived in cities for most of my life I can say it’s the best solution for protection of propert: don’t leave it out if you don’t want it damaged or to have poop in it. Another solution is to accept that this happens and place a samll, labeled and lined can out for poop, although then you’s have to tie the liner, toss it in your trashcan and put in a new liner. There are no perfect solutions.

I will say, however, that the level of rancor over this is odd and that Valvashon’s response, to hurl said bag into the street, is…psychotic. You see a poop bag in your trash can, reach in and then hurl it into the street? If this get’s your gears spinning like that what happens when someone bumps into you on the sidewalk? Val, do you cut them?

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[Smitty]

Hey wsea, I am with you 100%, don’t get me wrong.

I fully believe that most people know exactly what they are doing. Just saying there are “some” – like my friend – who are ignorant to it for whatever reason.

There are also those out there who will respond by saying “if I can’t bag it and drop it in your can then I will just leave it!”. It’s those people that I despise most. L-A-Z-Y and inconsiderate.

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[KBear]

Exactly, Mark47n. I get the frustration with having someone else’s poop tossed in your container, but throwing it into the street is not an acceptable response.

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[JoB]

if you are going to leave poop in my can.. please leave it in the right can.. you know the one that is designated for the landfill

don’t make me handle your poop bags

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[Sue]

What used to drive me crazy when I rented a house was that people would put their bagged dog waste not in my garbage can, but in the compost or recycling dumpster. And those were the big 96 gallon dumpsters, so you can’t just reach in and pull it out. So I’d either be having to turn it on its side to dump it out, or finding a stick to reach in and grab it. This happened quite often. If they had put it in the garbage, it would’ve made life much easier.

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[wsea98116]

I would disagree, mark- I believe this is a useful level of rancor. Just as Smitty pointed out- some people may not understand how offensive it is to leave someone a bag of poop that must be relocated or dealt with properly. Perhaps they might read this and understand and try to take responsibility for their own waste. I think valvashon’s momentary lashing out in frustration after repeated occurrence is understandable, and certainly less psychotic than sneaking around the neighborhood, gifting people dog feces! As you can see from others, this is not a unique happening from a few individuals, this is a commonplace occurrence, and just another element of this emerging pile of dog inconsideration.

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[JTB]

Does anyone else thinks the name “The Hydrant-a gathering place for people and pups” requires some mental gymnastics to get past the obvious association? (Like I’m sure they’re not That accomodating.)

I trust wsea98116 won’t be dropping in.

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[wsea98116]

More concerning is the poop and pee that is left behind. Why is it acceptable for dog owners only, to turn every planting space, or rare public green gathering spot, into a dog toilet? Take our junction businesses on California ave- Husky Deli for example. Happy families gathered out in front eating ice cream, and an endless parade of dogs pissing in the planter strip 5 feet from the front door. If a drunken human peed in the ally behind the dumpster, he would be cited- but out front, where children are playing and climbing on the concrete bench, it seems people cannot bring their dogs to pee here fast enough?! I just don’t understand this juxtaposition. If 50 dogs a day pee here, that’s a lot of pee, and how many missed craps? It’s like a huge, open toilet that never gets flushed, or cleaned- for all the gathering children to play in!? I just don’t get it. Why should I frantically look for a restroom when my kid has to go- next time, just drop trou and let’er rip, right there on the sidewalk. Would others nod and smile? I don’t think so..

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[wsea98116]

HahaHA! JTB, you got that right!

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[mark47n]

Ok, Wsea98116, you’ve said your piece. You’ve ranted about dogs and dog owners. You’ve made it clear that dogs aren’t welcome in your little corner of the ‘verse. Now, what are you going to do? You can’t eliminate them (get it?) and you’ll never make others conform to your desires. That goes for all who feel the need to rant and rave about poor behavior that isn’t hurting anyone but is merely just rude. I didn’t excuse the bad behavior, just pointed out that there are ways to mitigate it which is all you’ll be able to do. Quite honestly, many here (in W. Washington, Seattle in particular) get so very worked up over the slightest of slights, I can’t imagine how you don’t just explode with rage. Perhaps you just need a dog to provide a little unconditional support and a little hair around your house.

As to the idea that everything is so filthy that you can’t let you child touch it; lighten up, Francis! You survived childhood and I’m sure that there were plenty of gross things around, way fewer helmets and Purell didn’t exist yet. Things like cat poop, way nastier than dog poop with way more parasites and bacteria, lead paint and asbestos in your house…like popcorn ceilings, to say the least. So many parents shelter their children so much that it actually stunts them developmentally. I’ve actually had other parents exclaim in horror upon learning that my children started using public transportation in middle school, that we let them walk up to the Junction alone, when they were much younger, or that we’ve left them home alone overnight, they are now 15 and 17). They’ve survived well into high school, at this point, and they’ve handled way grosser stuff than dog poop during their time at their grandparents where there are 20ac of woods, chickens, rabbits, a stream and a swamp, to say nothing of other wildlife.

If you feel that the act of fishing a bag of poop out of one of our various rubbish bins and then hurling it in the street is not as nutty as a Pearson nut roll I can only assume that you’re the person who screams obscenities at people who cut in line trying to get on I-5NB, even though your windows are up. Sometimes you just have to accept that some people just suck and you just can’t fix it.

I plan to continue to walk my dog and let them pee and poop on various parking strips (and pick up the poop). Additionally, I look forward to The Hydrant opening and if you don’t like it then don’t go in. It’s simple, really, just like Beveridge Place.

As to parking strip ownership; the homeowner may hold the land but from the sidewalk to the street is a public right of way. That said, the homeowner is reponsible for the maintenance of that strip of right of way, to include maintenance and repair of the sidewalk.

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