Monday, February 11, 2008

Curb Your Dog, Please

Dogs in New York City gross me out, make my tongue curl and body cringe, for one simple reason. They pee everywhere – on the side of an apartment building, on the mail box at the corner, on the flowers planted in pots facing upward toward a blue sky. But, the worst, the sickest, is when they pop a squat and unload right in the middle of a well trafficked sidewalk.

Owners turn blind eyes as Fido unleashes a yellow river that floods the sidewalk and gouges out trenches, mini grand canyons in concrete. I, a passerby and frequent dodger, roll my eyes in disgust. At least have the decency to steer your dog to the street or the trees that line them.

I grimace at the thought of tracking a dog’s "present" in our building and through the apartment every time I accidentally stumble through an off-color puddle. The city posts “Curb Your Dog” signs for a reason. I don’t care how cute a dog’s bedazzled sweater and matching shoes are as long as they do their business where my feet don’t tread. Please curb Fido, Benji, Lassie, and Toto so that pedestrians like me stay happy and keep clean soles.

2 comments:

Phil in Florida said...

I'm just asking - how does one use the poly bag scooper on the yellow peril oozing across the sidewalk. The whole idea of 'picking up' is so absolutely gross, and the owners pretend to be anywhere else than where they are. There ought to be private latrines for dogs - but only after the city constructs more public washroom rooms for us ordinary humans.

JTNOFFSINGER said...

As a current dog owner, I can attest that "curbing" your dog is easier said than done. Whenever we take our dog out, we do a walk around the house first, hoping he will do his business in our yard, but inevitably he will pee on our neighbor's mailbox and tree, then poop in our other neighbor's yard. I scoop the poop, but the pees just lands on the trunk. Luckily there is more green space, so it typically gets absorbed into the ground rather than forming a yellow river. I don't think my dog would ever just let it fly while walking down the sidewalk!
Jennifer