Dear person who does not clean up after his/her dog:

[shu-al.livejournal.com]

Dear person who does not clean up after his/her dog:

Over the last couple of months, the streets in my neighborhood have been littered with your dog’s waste; you’re obviously new to the neighborhood because up until a couple months ago, this was not a problem. This morning I was greeted by a pile of your dog’s waste in front of my house. I therefore propose the following solution to this problem:

I am going to find out who you are, and take several pictures of you with your dog. I am then going to find out where you live. I am going to take these photos, blow them up, add your address to them, and plaster them all over the neighborhood. I am also going to take a shovel and plastic bag and am going to collect all the dog feces I can find in the neighborhood and deposit this bag of waste on your porch. Or perhaps I will simply fling the dung at your door until you figure out how to clean up after your pet.

Sincerely,
Your neighbor

Comments

[tisana.livejournal.com]

Guess it's not just my neighborhood...actually, no one seems to do it in mine, it's pretty bad. One neighbor has recently posted signs on their fence saying (in both English and Spanish): "Please be a considerate neighbor and clean up after your dog."

I think I might do the same, much good as I think it'll do. I'm not sure getting snarky and adding "...it's the law that you do it becuase it's a public health hazard, asshole!" is a good idea, but it's tempting.

[cutiebearkatie.livejournal.com]

People are seriously bad about picking up after their dogs out here. One of my neighbors just lets the their dog go in the yard and doesn't clean up, this is a communal yard for 6 apartments. I always take my dog out with a pooper scooper. Even my dog knows where we keep it, and when he has to go, he waits by the door where the scoop is kept.

[two-stabs.livejournal.com]

DIY. Good plan, you really should.

[aslant.livejournal.com]

ha ha.

i've often wanted to post up copies of the relevant passage of the somerville health code, on all the trees & telephone poles in sight. i can't imagine who these people are, to think it's okay.

[fidgetmonster.livejournal.com]

i doubt they think it's okay: they are just lazy

[androidqueen.livejournal.com]

I am going to take these photos, blow them up, add your address to them, and plaster them all over the neighborhood.

please do - we'd all appreciate it.

[fidgetmonster.livejournal.com]

amen. I'm an avid gardener and it is just GROSS when I find feces in my yard. It pisses me off that someone is letting their dog run through my flowers too. The other year I put up a 'no pooping' glyph on a sign in my front yard that helped some. So far the FOR SALE sign in the yard seems to be a fairly good deterrent. :p

As a tangent, I've noticed that it's much worse during the winter/spring months before I've groomed the garden. The presence of flowers and mulch seems to be a sign to keep the dogs off, but the inverse of that is that if my yard looks like shit that someone is assuming I don't care if it's used as a toilet.

[fidgetmonster.livejournal.com]

nope.

The Scoop on Poop

[somervilledog.livejournal.com]

For the benefit of my fellow dog owners: The Scoop on Poop (http://www.somervilledog.com/somdog/archives/the_scoop_on_poop.php).

On behalf of responsible dog owners in Somerville: sorry, shu_al.

Re: The Scoop on Poop

[shu-al.livejournal.com]

I appreciate that. I'm a dog lover, and I know it's not the poor dog's fault that its owner is irresponsible. What would you recommend, honestly?

Re: The Scoop on Poop

[somervilledog.livejournal.com]

Here are my recommendations. They're all serious, but some of them require less effort to implement.

In order (more or less) of ease of implementation:

1. Clean up the pile in front of your house.

   I don't mean this to be at all snarky! Studies suggest that in an environment that appears well-cared-for, people are not only more likely to treat the environment with respect (see fidgetmonster's observation), they're also less likely to engage in criminal activity. NYC was able to significantly reduce criminal behavior on its subways by cleaning up graffiti and keeping it clean!

2. Promote responsible dog ownership

   Tell dog owners about the Somerville Dog Owners Group. Our membership is too small at this time for us to be able to organize clean-ups in every neighborhood in Somerville, but we'd like to change that!

3. Go through with your stake-out, but when you catch the offender, offer her/him an intact plastic bag, and ask her to please clean up after her dog.
4. "Take a shovel and plastic bag and . . . collect all the dog feces . . . in the neighborhood." You might want to organize some friends/neighbors/(ahem)dog-owners to help you out. Put the appropriately bagged feces out for trash collection.

(http://www.somervilledog.com/somdog) ()

Re: The Scoop on Poop

[somervilledog.livejournal.com]

FWIW, I have one a sign like this one:

(http://www.signswithanattitude.com/if_your_dog_poops.html)

I have no interest—personal, financial or otherwise—in signswithanattitude.com.

[swingchickie.livejournal.com]

it amazes me that someone can take on the responsibility of a pet, and then pick and choose which parts of pet ownership they'll do (e.g. scoopin'). last year, someone in our building got a dog, and it used to poo in the LOBBY and they wouldn't clean up after it! needless to say, they were booted out of the building pretty quickly.

[lissie930.livejournal.com]

I find this incredibly frustrating. I live right near Nunziato Field, which dog owners have essentially taken over for an off-leash space, even though NO DOGS signs are posted (before I get flamed, I do understand the lack of off-leash space for dogs in somerville and do support a dog run there). While many of the dog-owners are responsible and clean up, enough don't that it's SO FRUSTRATING. My 18 month stepped in huge poop the other day. In addition, dog owners have REFUSED to leash their dogs when asked nicely when I and others are in the park with small children. It's too bad that a few arrogant owners have put many of the neighbors up in arms, as many dog owners are good about cleaning up after their own (and others') dogs.

i have a dog but agree with you ...

[ilovesomerville.livejournal.com]

i understand your frustration. i have a dog and pick up after her and i get so irritated when i see poo on the streets. people who refuse to leash their dogs are most likely rude and arrogant in other areas of their lives, so please don't think all dog owners are like that. i would happily leash my pup if anyone asked. dog owners like me need people like you to support off-leash areas for dogs, so i am glad to hear you are supportive. hopefully there will be a solution we can all agree upon.

ditto

[cananian.livejournal.com]

One hope is that, with some *legal* areas for responsible dog-owners, the extremely limited resources of the Somerville animal control can be concentrated on the "bad guys". I don't like my dog sniffing other dog's poops either, and it's just as frustrating for me to see it all over the place.

[yangelina.livejournal.com]

My concern about unleashed dogs is mostly on the bike path: it's so dangerous for both the dog and the cyclist! I understand that people have complaints about bikers that are "Lance Armstrong wanna-bes", but the rule of the path is that dogs MUST be on leashes. And come on, it's a BIKE path. I totally understand your frustration toward dog owners that do not follow the rules.

Whenever I see this I bike by saying "please put your dog on a leash!" but I'm thinking it might be helpful if I actually stop with a piece of paper listing off-leash space for the owners to take their dogs (are there any?). I know they just love their dogs and want them to run free, but I don't understand why they feel the bike path is the place to do so--it's as if they let their children run free in traffic. I'm sorry to hear that people have actually refused to leash their dogs--I've never stopped after asking, and assume that they're all glaring at me. :)

There's a space between Davis and Mass Ave on the path, where there's a small circle with some lawn. Multiple owners like to meet and unleash their dogs around there between 5-7pm on weekdays. It wasn't so bad during the winter, but now that it's getting nicer, I supsect they'll be out again. Bikers beware!

off-leash space in Somerville

[somervilledog.livejournal.com]

it might be helpful if I actually stop with a piece of paper listing off-leash space for the owners to take their dogs (are there any?)

Good idea!

Alas, currently there are no spaces in Somerville where residents may legally allow our dogs off-leash.

In, fact, last I checked, even the Community Path was posted "No Dogs Allowed"—not even ON leash. It's really unfair.

According to the municipal ordinances of the city that pertain to dogs (http://www.somervilledog.com/archives/cat_somerville_city_ordinances.php), it is

unlawful for the owner or custodian of any dog to permit any such animal to run loose or be at-large within the corporate limits of the city (3-34).

Also according to the city ordinances

when the commissioner of public works, in his or her discretion, shall determine that any park, playground, schoolyard, or other public area in the control of the city is inappropriate for the allowance of entry by dogs, due to usage by small children, or landscaping considerations, or any other reason sufficient to him or her, he or she shall cause such place to be posted with appropriate and sufficient signs reading, "No Dogs Allowed." No person shall permit, suffer or allow any dog owned by him or her, or in his or her custody or control, whether restrained or unrestrained, to enter upon any park, playground, schoolyard, or other public area in the control of the city so posted as aforesaid (12-51).

.

The one open space in the city (http://www.somervilledog.com/somdog/archives/parks/index.php) where dogs are allowed is Foss Park, which is maintained by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation and is posted "Leash And Pick Up After Dogs: $200 Fine."

Re: off-leash space in Somerville

[yangelina.livejournal.com]

Oh, that's SUCH a bummer.

Poor doggies. I don't know what the best solution is, but nevertheless it is still dangerous for them to be off-leash on the bike path. I do always say 'please' on the path when asking the owners to leash, but there are moments when I almost hit the poor dogs -- that is really upsetting. Then I still use 'please', just not as nicely. :)

I hope things will change at some point and there will be spaces dedicated for dogs to be off-leash when they're outside. Otherwise they'd have to go on road trips to rural areas of western Mass, RI, etc, just to be 'free.'

Poop scooping, though, there's really no excuse not to. Have you come across dog owners that don't scoop? What would you do if you do see them?

Stoop and Scoop

[somervilledog.livejournal.com]

There's absolutely no excuse not to! I do come across dog owners that don't, though. I repress my anger and approach them with a smile and an intact plastic baggie and say something neighborly like, "What a great dog you have. You seem to be in a bit of a pickle though: It looks like you're in need of a plastic bag! Here, I have an extra one!" Peer pressure works on all but the socially pathological. :-)

I also agree with you that it is dangerous for dogs to be off-leash on the Community Path. Biking on the path demands enough of attention as it is, what with the families with little children and strollers... I do think that people should be allowed to enjoy the path with our dogs on leash.