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Humans love dogs. And rightly so — our four-legged friends have provided us with lifetimes of loyalty, companionship, and support since their domestication 25,000 years ago.
It’s important to remember that the responsibilities that come with caring for a dog in our densely populated urban environment reflects on the owners level of respect for others and their property.
Dog-walking etiquette is a big issue in South Pasadena. How many times have you stepped around poop at Garfield Park or on the sidewalk? What about on your own front yard?
Which brings us to Dog-Walking Etiquette Lesson 1: always carry a poop bag.
If you’re grossed out by picking up feces, get over it! Scooping your dog’s poop isn’t just considerate, it’s the law. In South Pasadena you’re required to pick it up within 5 minutes or face a fine (SPCC 5.42).
And by the way, THANK YOU to all the responsible dog owners in town who do pick up after their pets! For the most part, South Pasadenans are pretty good about it.
Keeping our streets and parks clean keeps our children and animals safe, too. No matter how healthy you think your dog is, their feces could carry a multitude of viruses, bacteria, worms, and pathogens that can be passed to another dog simply through a curious sniff.
What is hard to understand is how some dog owners could allow their animals to defecate and urinate in other people’s yards. The urine kills the grass, and even after a poo is picked up there’s still poo in the grass. Yuk. Such lack of basic decency and respect can only be tackled by more scholarly psychology journals; so I can only say don’t do that.
Picking up the poop in this case isn’t enough to sanitize the area. If common respect for another human’s private property isn’t enough to stop some dog owners from allowing their animals to poop in others’ property, then think of children potentially being transmitted life-threatening diseases from playing in it.
There are those who continue to shirk responsibility, or think that “one time” or “one dog” isn’t enough to make a negative impact. Consider the fact that enough “one times” or “one dogs” has added up to the South Pasadena Public Library lawn becoming a soiled play-area for the children that visit it.
Have you sat in the Library grass in the sun to read or relax lately? The public library grounds are not a dog park. Sorry. It’s a people park. No poo or pee allowed. So, maybe it’s okay to just let Fido have a leak on the trees or grass on the outside rim of the library grounds? Nope. Not okay either. Cars park there and people need to get out, and step straight onto that grass by the street – especially children.
So next time Fido gets fidgety, remember to grab that plastic bag, keep him or her out of others yards and park areas, and keep in mind that our love for one species should not come at the expense for our neighbors. If you’re a dog owner who is careful about these issues, then again, THANK YOU for being the example urban pet owner. 5-Stars to you!
