I can’t believe I’m asking this question, but here it is: does everyone just stop picking up their dogs’ poop in the winter? Because evidently, once the temperature dropped below 40 degrees here in Philadelphia, that’s what everyone did.
I’m not exaggerating when I say there is dog poop everywhere. Every five steps I see another pile that someone didn’t pick up. Sometimes Dipper notices it before I do—it’s under his feet, on his nose, or even in his mouth.
Granted, it’s my job to make sure my dog isn’t eating poop, but our West Philly sidewalks have turned into a figurative war zone, and your dogs’ stools are the almost literal landmines.
I shouldn’t have to remind people that poop doesn’t just magically disappear. It decomposes, a process aided largely by flies in the summer months. Without them, the poop just sticks around. And while it may not stink in the winter, it’s just as unhygienic and unsightly as it is in the heat of summer.
Worst of all, canine fecal matter is the habitat of countless diseases and parasites. A dog doesn’t necessarily need to eat any waste for them to enter his system—all it takes is a sniff. While vaccinations can prevent dogs from hosting such things in their bodies and passing them along in their feces, if a dog’s owner is the type of person to leave their pet’s poop behind on a walk, I don’t exactly trust that they’ve vaccinated their dog.
Having a dog is gross. They are gross, disgusting animals by nature. I can count on both hands the number of times I’ve had to take a babywipe to Dipper’s bottom only to realize it was a job only scissors could do. His butt’s got a pretty choppy haircut. It’s not glamorous, but dogs are anything but.
Ugh – it’s bad in Brooklyn, too! Piles everywhere.
This is our first year in this neck of the woods and I would have never believed it would be like this. I find myself leering at all other dog walkers now. Like, “are YOU the guy who left that pile behind? Hmmm…”
There were signs up encouraging “scooping” in the summer but they’ve disappeared! Alas…
See, not even the people hanging the signs realize it’s just as bad in the winter!
people in London are quite polite at poop collection, but we have specific poop bins by all parks and grassy areas.
Interesting! Are waste bags provided?
No but waste bag rolls are in most general purpose stores over here. Along with roll holders and bags for the rolls of bags. Its just the done thing here ya know?
That’s so great. Just having those in stores probably helps to foster a culture of responsibility in cleaning up after your dog.