CAN WE PLEASE BE RESPONSIBLE ADULTS??!!

[Ken]

To the moderators: if you water this down so it won't "offend" anyone,
it won't change anyone's behavior, either. I have already watered it
down A LOT from what I might have said. People need a little shock
now and then to open their eyes and minds. Ken


TO ALL OUR NEIGHBORS AND FRIENDS AT THE PARK:

Every day, my wife and I pick up 2-3 times more dog shit (no
euphemisms for me) in the park than our dogs produce. The
irresponsibility has gotten so chronic that over the past 2 months I
decided to do a totally un-scientific study of just who is shirking
the common courtesy of picking up after their dogs. After checking it
out at all hours of the day, weekdays and weekends, the main offenders
are in three groups:

TALKERS. There are LOTS of nice, decent people who socialize at the
park while their dogs run around and apparently have Gerald Ford
syndrome -- they can't talk and look at the same time. They are so
busy enjoying their conversations and making eye contact with other
people for long periods of time that they totally miss what the dogs
are doing. If someone doesn't point it out to them, they just ignore
it. I don't know if they are stupid, lazy or rude, but their dogs
leave piles all over the park for other people to deal with. I
believe that this is the single biggest source of stray dog piles in
the park. NOT acceptable.

Solution 1: WATCH YOUR DOG while you talk. This is not difficult.
Try it. People can still hear you if you are looking at Snookums
while talking, and they will still be there a moment later when you
come back with a full bag.

Solution 2: If you can't do that, PICK UP a couple of piles of dog
shit (trust me, they are easy to find!) to make up for the fact that
your dog certainly left one or two while he was at the park. Dogs get
excited when they go the park and almost always take a dump or two.
Your dog did, too, whether you saw it or not. Get your head out of
the sand, please!

DOG WALKERS. (And let's not have any political/emotional knee-jerk
automatic defenses that assume that this, or any, group is perfect. I
am NOT demonizing a group; I am identifying a problem that SOME people
contribute to. If I get any hate mail, I'll just send your license
plate to the IRS so you can show how you've been reporting all that
cash income.)

As I was saying, SOME dog walkers contribute to this problem. Some
are quite good about watching all their dogs. Others seem to think
that if they are cleaning up after one dog, they are doing enough (or
maybe they are doing all they are capable of doing -- Gerald Ford,
again.). Anyway, it doesn't help much if you clean up after one dog,
and 3 others have dumped loads behind your back. Sometimes, it seems
that there is a deliberate focus on the one cleanup so the person
doesn't have to acknowledge all the others.

Solution: As always, WATCH ALL THE DOGS. If you can't do that, you
are bringing too many dogs to the park and should cut back or make
more trips. (By the way, it DOES NOT WORK to "check the area" after
not watching your dogs poop all over. You will miss a lot; don't kid
yourself.)

JUST PLAIN RUDE. There are some people who just don't get it and/or
just don't want to get it. They don't bring bags, ignore the signs,
watch their dogs crap in front of them, and do nothing. I am going to
resist the temptation to delve into my colorful vocabulary in further
description of these people.

Solution: I'm not sure there is one. These people might be taught by
polite explanations, but some of them are too dense and too anti-
social to deal with. Their dogs are usually badly behaved, too. The
good news is that these people do not seem to be regulars at the park
and rarely come back more than a couple of times.

Finally, a BIG THANK YOU to all the people (the majority, I think) who
watch their dogs and clean up after them conscientiously. The rest of
us appreciate it.

If anyone has a beef with me about this, store up your anger and take
it out on the JUST PLAIN RUDE people who never clean up after their
dogs. I'm just trying to solve a problem, not start one. We are all
one big community of people who want to enjoy the park with our furry
friends. Peace.