All who Pitched In...Take A Bow: One Man's Opinion

Monday, April 23, 2007 03:45 AM

A tip of the hat today to all of those people who were out on the weekend trying to clean the garbage off the road right of way , you are a credit to this city.

It was, to say the least, heart breaking to see one fellow picking garbage along Foothills Blvd, while a few hundred meters away a lunch tray came firing out the window of a vehicle and onto the side of the road.

I can even accept when people have some bits of garbage fall out of their vehicle as they head to the dump, but deliberately dumping their garbage onto the side of the road makes you wonder just what their home looks like and would you want to be invited there for dinner?

Regardless there were a lot of people on the streets cleaning up after a long winter and the work they did showed immediately. To all who took part in the Spring Clean Up, congratulations, you should stand up and take a bow, as you are a credit to this community.

Now to another common occurrence that leaves you cold.

People who walk up to a park, walk way or for that matter someone’s yard and then let their dog off the lease to allow them to do their "business". Well that’s okay if you then bring out your plastic bag and pick up the stuff, but it is amazing how many people feel that your yard, the city parks, or walk ways are open season for their dog to have a crap.

I’m sure in many cases its because the dog has just been taken out for a walk and their owners know full well that the dog needs to "go" and what better spot than on public property where you can glance down and then walk away from it?

It’s a shame and it also gives rise to why so many people dislike pets. These irresponsible pet owners somehow feel that a barking dog or a dog that uses your yard as its bathroom is perfectly okay.

I’m Meisner and that’s one man’s opinion.

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Posted on Monday, April 23, 2007 03:45 AM in Views by Ben Meisner

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Comments

Posted by: heidi1555 on April 23 2007 7:43 AM

I love taking my kids to Fort George Park as it's pretty clean and has garbage cans everywhere you look. Littering this day and age is a huge sin. Funny you mentioned the pet pee/poo problem as just last night I take my dog out in front yard for his nightly duty and this lady walks by with her little poodle unleashed. He runs directly on my property to sniff noses with my dog which is fine with me but then makes a dart for my shrub and pees which is fine....i should have a fence and he's a dog he doesnt know better. What wasnt' fine was the woman laughs, "Ooops he's marking his territory!!!" and keeps walking. I love my trees and shrubs that i've been planting over the last two years. Here I am in my own yard with my dog on a leash and she lets hers wander free. If I could afford a fence i'd build one A.S.A.P. This poodle is lucky i'm kind (could've booted him easily if I were someone else), also lucky he doesnt get ran over or beat up by a larger dog. Leashes people!!!!!

Posted by: postman on April 23 2007 9:19 AM

I wonder what some of these people would think if I just saddled up to their front lawn, dropped the pants and "did my business " in their yard. There would be howls of indignation and screams of revulsion throughout the community. But I don't find dog business any more appealing than human "business". C'mon people use a little common sense and courtesy!

Posted by: heidi1555 on April 23 2007 10:19 AM

lol, yeah i'd be wondering where your owner was and it does happen by the way. Drunks after the bar pulling it out on the first available wall....as I remember it to be and sure that hasnt changed in the last 10 yrs.

Posted by: Harbinger on April 23 2007 2:00 PM

Dogs? Hey, doncha know? The world is their toilet !!!

Posted by: Big_B on April 23 2007 3:12 PM

OH Ben,

You're just jealous that you can't crap anywhere you want and scrape your ass on the concrete.

For those of you who wonder, you can buy those little bags for very cheap at any pet store if you don't like taking a shopping bag. Get yourself a caribiner(sp?), and voila, you have a place to hang your poop bag off of your dog leash.

Posted by: Chadermando on April 23 2007 3:19 PM

First the good news. I saw a number of people out a couple of weeks ago walking along highway 97 south of Art Napps cleaning those road sides and thought what a bunch of great class act people. As sson as the snow was gone they were out cleaning the road sides in front of their homes. Great stuff.

Now for the bad news. I have a dog and he craps in public places from time to time. The thing about my dog is he is trained to go into the bushes to do his thing and never does it in the open or on walking trails. I don't really see what is so bad about that as it is a form of furtilizer for the trees? He has never done anything on someones property, walking trails, or grass areas so I see nothing wrong with it. Its not like we are littering or leaving land mines around. Some people don't like it I realize that.

Posted by: owl on April 23 2007 9:47 PM

read the part in the link about how parvovirus is transmitted.

Dogs are curious, especially when it comes to "marking territory". If a dog can go under a bush to do its business, others can follow to smell its business with that wonderful warm, moist, ready-to-harbour-any-virus nose.

So, out of sight and out of mind is just to humans .. not to dogs ... their sight is their sense of smell.

http://www.workingdogs.com/parvofaq.htm

Posted by: owl on April 23 2007 9:49 PM

BTW, spring is a common time for parvo "epidemics" since all the winter droppings which were covered up for several months are now exposed ... call the BCSPCA shelter about it, or any vet office.

Posted by: Chadermando on April 23 2007 11:11 PM

My dog picked up Parvo when he had to stay at the vet for another unrelated problem. I haven't heard of any dog geting it from a dog smelling other dogs.

That said I don't think we should ban the vet because of the problem of the vet transmitting this disease.

Posted by: postman on April 24 2007 9:15 AM

Well Chder, maybe I could just drop one in the bushes in your yard and because we can't see it - no problem. You're the type who dumps discarded fridges in the bush cuz,hey, nobody sees it so what's the prob!!! Interesting rational you got there Chader.

Posted by: Chadermando on April 24 2007 3:45 PM

Postman you have that completely wrong. I am not the type that dumps old fridges in the bush. In fact last year I hauled no less then six out of the bush including two from Island Park out Miworth, and three from the stretch of road next to Foothills near the bridge. (actually I hualed them to the gate and re-dumped other peoples garbage at the regional district gate, then wrote about it here for good measure. I will not pay for other peoples disposal, but I will clean it up.)

I absolutely hate those that litter and those that dump their garbage in the bush, and I will confront them when I see it and clean up after them when I can. I make a point of shaming all those who think it is all right to litter so much as a wrapper.

That said, a dogs crap in the bush is in no way comparable to a litter bug.

If you crapped in my yard I'd kick you where it counts. You are not a dog and even if you were it would not be acceptable. My dog has never crapped on my neighbors lawn not once, neither has he crapped on my lawn. I had no poop to clean up this spring, because my dog is trained to go where he goes. Under a bush out in a trail system is no different then what the wild animals do IMO.