I love walking my old, two-pooper lab. Carrying it around for those long walks really stink. How about a place to dump it?
If you live in a small New England town, with a sleepy Main Street lined with old houses and tree-lined sidewalks on both sides, you’re lucky enough to enjoy the simple luxury of accessibility. People from all over town, and even outside the downtown area, bring friends to stroll up and down these beautiful tree-lined paths. These friends may have two legs or four as main streets are perfectly suited for dog-walking.
I have a Black Lab, Tuff. He’s a two-poop walker. It’s a proper form of etiquette to pick up after your pet. Yet, the humorously awkward portion of the walk, is having to carry Tuff’s dangling load for the remainder of the walk. I often witness others in the same predicament. I particularly find the most enjoyment watching the masculine types, walking tiny lap dogs…poop bag tied to the leash. That’s love! Yes, it is embarrassing, and not particularly hygiene free…especially if the four legged companion has experienced digestive issues. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we had random poop drops or trash receptacles up and down Main Street? How many times have you walked up and down the sidewalks with a bag-o-poop and nowhere to put it? Do you sneak it into someones trash bin? Ideally, there wouldn’t have to be many bins, just a few for those walkers of pooches or those that pick up the occasional trash thrown from moving vehicles. I’m sure it’s a cost issue, a tax issue, a town issue. Who would pay for the trash bins? Who would pick up the trash? Where would they be placed? So many questions I yet to have answers to.
Since I don’t particularly enjoy carrying bags of fecal refuge, I discreetly place it next to a tree and pick it up on my way back. I know others have adopted the same habit, since I see similar knotted bags strategically placed up and down the sidewalks. Some are hidden behind bushes, some in plane sight. I even saw one hanging from an old maple like a Christmas ornament. That was original. I know people who walk their dogs at night, with no intention of manning poop patrol. Ah, the clean get away! It’s not as scandalous as a Grace Metalious novel, but there are individuals that believe it to be. Since my town is so small, and Main Street so visible, people often identify your dog before you. But with no Lamplighters or street lights, the formula for the perfect “void” is obvious…if their dog poops in the dark, so is their secret of not picking up after Fido.
I’m no saint. I have been on “quick” walks and underestimated Tuff’s constitution or mistakenly brought one bag instead of two. But, I like to think of myself as a gal not afraid to pick up a pile while friends honk and wave. Yet, I’m beginning to wonder there must be an easier solution to the poop issue…cause I’m seeing a lot of crap.