We were reading a thread on Brooklynian about people’s feeling that there is more dog crap on the sidewalks of Park Slope than before, when we came across the long entry about a dog owner that wanted to clean up after their pet but, uh, couldn’t. Given that it touches on two of our favorite topics, one of them being interesting social interactions in Park Slope, here it is, as posted by Obamanut:
I was in Prospect Park with my dog (fairly large) when he suddenly got ‘the runs,’ nothing I could do. A ‘new Park Slope’ type middle-aged couple sitting on a bench, who looked like they just moved into the hood from the Upper West Side, watched me intently as I walked by past them. When my dog popped a squat, the gaze became even more intensive. When I looked at my dog’s watery leavings, which had instantly soaked into the grass/wood chips, and gave up and walked away, the woman’s eyes lit up as if she had been waiting for that moment her entire life – “HEYYY HEYYY HEYYY” she says after me, probably thinking I was going to just melt with shame and embarrassment.
Imagine her surprise instead when I turned around, held up the empty bag in my hand, pointed at the ground, and informed her that I’d love to do my civic duty but there was simply nothing remotely solid for me to get a hold of, and if she didn’t believe me she was welcome to get off the bench and have a closer look for herself. Her jaw dropped (probably the first time anyone’s talked back to her in her entire life) and her husband got very jittery and apologized.
Also sometimes when I am out in the street and get caught without a bag (e.g., when the dog decides to crap 3+ times in a row) I have to leave the ‘scene of the crime’ for a moment to go find one. I had to curse out another snotty UWS type awhile back for following and harassing me during such an incident, and told her to start carrying her own bags around if the crap bothered her so much that she couldn’t stand to look at it for 3 mins while I remedied the situation.
Ya know, I just don’t get the audacity of some people. There are many violent, crazy people in this city, and some of them are dog owners I’m sure – you don’t just go around mouthing off to random people on the street, at least, that’s not the way I was raised. It may fly in Park Slope, but I don’t see the sense of risking a potentially dangerous confrontation over something as stupid as dog crap.
Hope the pup is feeling better.
7 responses so far ↓
1 RG PetComm LLC // Jun 9, 2008 at 7:17 pm
One way to make dog owners more responsible is to make taking care of their dogs as convenient as possible. For example, if an owner has poop bags readily available they will most likely be more prone to picking up after their dog(s).
What they need is a product that makes it more convenient to pick it up. Such a product can be found at http://www.rgpetcomm.com
Once you use the SmartWalk Manager you’ll wonder how you did without it.
Good luck to responsible dog owners…
2 uh // Jun 9, 2008 at 8:42 pm
Nice shill,but none of your products help against the runs.Anyway, being a responsible dog owner (and knowing you have a dog that is likely trapped inside all day) and imagining there will be more than one load coming out of them, you should always bring many bags with you. I always see dog owners leaving the scene of the crime (it is a crime) looking around, and of course their first defense when confronted is the “i was just going to get something” defense which alot iof times is a lie.I dont think its a UWS thing, its a people are tired of seeing dogcrap all over type of thing. Be prepared, and you wont get yelled at. Its audacious someone would walk past their own dogs mess (wether they meant to eventually clean it or not) and wouldnt expect to get a talkin to.
3 sarah // Jun 9, 2008 at 8:46 pm
I totally agree with you and have been caught in similar situations. I was once walking my dog who pooped for the third time to my surprise, and I did not have a bag. I left the scene of the crime, dog in hand, to go to the corner store and get a bag, but in the meantime some guy came running up to me screaming about picking up my dog crap. I think there are a lot of responsible dog owners out there and we get some false accusations sometimes. I just don’t get how some people knowingly leave piles and piles of huge poop on the sidewalk behind, giving all of us responsible dog owners a bad rap!
4 michael // Jun 9, 2008 at 11:49 pm
i have nothing but sympathy for the incident in the park, but when i’m on a sidewalk and i need something to scoop with, i just grab one of those supermarket advertising flyers that always seem to be on a stoop, nearby. i’m happy, my dog’s happy and i’ve saved the homeowner the trouble of throwing-out the paper.
5 D // Jun 10, 2008 at 12:01 am
I’d love to give all dog owners the benefit of the doubt but the ever-renewing piles of sidewalk gifts overwhelmingly indicts dog owners, as a group, as selfish. Any good dog owners out there want to volunteer to clean my carpets after dog crap has been tracked through? Thanks for picking up after your dog though.
6 lenny // Jun 10, 2008 at 8:54 am
“D” you still have carpet
7 dennis981 // Oct 5, 2008 at 11:54 am
the pictur is of a danish statue