Is it a matter of etiquette?
Is it a sign of responsible dog ownership?
Is it a moral obligation, an environmentally responsible thing to do? Does it make one a good citizen, a caring individual? Does it matter?
Hosing off the soles of my boots yet one more time after returning home from a walk with my dogs, I ponder that it is all of the above and more, for you see it is a choice. It is a choice I make each and every time I leash up my dogs and stuff my pockets with – yes, count ‘em – a minimum of five “doggy doo” bags.
Five, you may ask, but you only have three dogs. Sometimes you get a bag with a defective bottom seam. Occasionally, one dog may have two “doo’s,” and if a bag is already knotted then that one is a done deal in my book.
Oh, and then there are the potential “step ins” along the walk, left by other dogs and their owners. It was one of those that were coating the bottom of my boots, yet again.
After walking Sadie Bear and Ebony, it was Noah’s turn, but rather than stand still to get leashed up he was completely enthralled with my boot, more precisely with what was on the bottom of it. “Crap!”
Literally, I took Noah for his walk, dragging my foot in any grassy patches I could find, to try to get most of it off. When we got back home, I put Noah on the deck with the girls, went out and hosed off my boots, then mopped the laundry room floor where I had unwittingly deposited doo-boot prints.
I am not embarrassed to withdraw my bags from my pocket and tidy up after my dogs.
Well, okay, on the occasions where I have to pull out a twig or something before I can knot the bag, I do hope no one is watching, but even so, I do it all the same. I carry these special little packages all the way home and put them in the garbage.
Some well-intended owners seem to miss this important step, bringing their bags along, picking up their dog’s doo, knotting the bags and leaving these little treasures near a trail head or gate for the imaginary “Doo Fairy” to come along and collect.
It doesn’t matter what motivates you or I to pick up our dog’s doo, it just matters that we do it every time.
Marjanna Wornell
Colwood