The Civics Lesson In Dog Poop

Dear Dog Lady,

We are third and fourth graders at [a private school near Boston]. We are writing to you about the park near our school where we play at recess. We are complaining about the poop that is left on the field. There is a $50 fine for not picking up your dog’s poop. The third and fourth graders spend some of our recess picking up dog poop. There are poop bags up at the park so people can pick up their own dog’s poop, but many people don’t use them. Kids are stepping in the poop all the time. Kyle, our friend, slipped and got his hands covered in poop. On a sunny day, Kyle, Pingwang, Robert, and Eric picked up 20 pieces of poop. Every day we find more. We are sick of picking up just so we can play. Please let us know what we can do.

Eric, Robert and Pingwang, Cambridge, MA

Gee, kids, you sound like the “South Park” gang – only cuter. Thank you for taking the time out of your busy day to write about this none-too-pretty but crucial subject. Somehow, the poop problem only gets worse in winter. For reasons best known to irresponsible humans, dog dung seems to collect on snow piles. Dog Lady wishes she could snap her fingers and make it all go away, but even she is stumped about how to encourage negligent dog owners to pick up after their pets -- other than catching them in the act and putting them in handcuffs.

A public reprimand often miffs negligent owners. So be it. Better to cause embarrassment than to step in a pile of you-know-what. Wouldn’t you agree Eric, Robert and Pingwang? After all, look at the mess your friend Cartman -- oops! Kyle -- fell into. Dog Lady advises you not to scold any adult who doesn’t pick up after a dog, but do tell the adults who are supervising your recess play. Ask one of them to remind the lazy dog owner to remove the dog droppings if you actually see someone. As for all those anonymous dog owners who leave their dog waste behind, they cause the park to become hazardous for children – and ruin the political pet standing for law-abiding dogs and their owners.

You guys should make the poop problem a civics lesson, a class project. With your teachers’ help, you should post a sign near the bag dispenser in the park: “Attention dog walkers! Please pick up and properly dispose of your dog’s poop. If you don’t doo it (a little humor never hurts), we -- the third and fourth-graders at (Your School) -- must collect and dispose of it before we can play safely. We love dogs, but this is not our job. Please clean up after your pet so everybody can enjoy the park.” Your plea to park users is bound to have an impact. Your teachers may also want to involve your city’s Parks Department in the project.

Some adults may read this and think Dog Lady should go back to school for suggesting the dog poop problem become a civics lesson. Yet, if you consider it, there are few other daily quality-of-life urban issues (crime and trash collection top the list) causing more discontent and distress than dog feces littering parks, streets and sidewalks. If you three grade-schoolers manage to raise awareness about the cleanliness of the park where you play and you’re able to make a difference, you will have taken care of your own little corner of the earth. In the “Ask Dog Lady” grade book, that citizenship effort gets an A+.

Posted by Dog Lady at February 26, 2005 04:08 PM