By Kirsten, an UWS Resident
I absolutely love dogs. I have a 14-year-old pup, with 12 of his years spent on the Upper West Side. What don’t I love a lot of the time? Other dog owners. There is a myriad of frustrating, thoughtless and selfish behaviors I witness from my fellow dog owners on a daily basis, but nothing aggravates me more than owners who don’t pick up (or only partially pick up) after their dogs.
The UWS is teeming with dogs, and disgustingly, teeming with dog poop on the sidewalks. It’s particularly bad right now. Sidewalks narrowed by piles of snow, and all those piles lined with poop. I can rarely look up and enjoy the day while I’m walking, with or without my dog.
My eyes need to be almost constantly cast downward to avoid piles or smears.
Let’s keep this short and sweet: There is no excuse to not pick up after your dog. (I understand that there might be elderly owners who have difficulty with the mobility required, but that is a whole other problem as they likely need assistance with many tasks required to care for a dog.)
Dog bags are one of the cheaper expenses involved with owning a dog, and dog bag dispensers attach easily to leashes. You can’t rely on the small number of businesses who are legally still allowed to distribute plastic bags for your dog’s waste. For those who propose that the city or the neighborhood install dog waste stations, why should all residents pay for what is the responsibility of dog owners?
Dog owners: When you take out your dog, you should be prepared with multiple bags. You should always assume there is a chance your dog will defecate more than once, or, shall we say, be messier than normal. (Here’s a tip for when you know your dog is experiencing a GI issue from an owner who knows all too well: Quickly place a paper plate under your dog when it squats and then place the paper plate in a bag. Paper towels come in handy too.) If you find yourself without a bag, go back to the spot later and pick it up.
I am not going to state the obvious reasons why residents shouldn’t have to deal with dog poop on the sidewalks, but in case you are not aware, dog poop spreads disease. Leaving your dog’s poop on the sidewalk is a threat to the health of other dogs, other animals, and humans. If you don’t care about that, remind yourself that maybe one day you will have a stroller for your child/grandchild (or pup) that inevitably will run over dog poop and be brought into your apartment. Even worse, please consider our fellow residents who use wheelchairs. Their wheelchairs are forced to roll over poop, and then subsequently roll through their apartments.
There is a condo community in New Jersey that uses DNA testing to track down owners who don’t pick up after their dogs. It’s sad that as a society we must go to that extreme, and there is no way that would work in NYC.
However, there is no reason our sidewalks need to be covered in dog poop. UWSers, we are better than this, right?
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It’s the “smears” that are particularly bad right now. I saw so many this morning and had to check the bottom of my shoes twice to see if I had “stepped in it.” I had not but I really had to be on the lookout. Smears are evidence of someone who incompletely picked up after their dog. Why not finish the job?
It had gotten really bad since we have had this cold cold weather since the end of January
I don’t recall seeing this much dog poop on the street
I think its rather all this snow has made the problem more apparent.
There is also no reason in normal weather (no snow) to let your dog poop or pee in the middle of the sidewalk. How about curbing your dog. People used to do it but it is a rarity today.