Please Pick Up Your Dog Mess!

We discussed this at our last Board meeting and I instructed management to look into the signs to:
1) See who actually pays for them.
2) Get the dimensions of the signs.
3) See if they will fit on our mutt mitt boxes.

And to clarify, I still do not think it will change much behavior. Why? Because in order to see the signs, they would have to stop at a mutt mitt box, which they obviously are not doing.
Correction: I believe people ARE aware that there is an ordinance against it...they just choose to ignore it.

 

Hi Cliff,
Thanks for the update. I agree with you, however, the more proactive we are as a community I think helps. Thanks!

 

Cliff-
You would be surprised at how many piles of mess there are within eyesight of the mitt boxes. People will see signs -- whether they decide to read it or not is up to them. But we shouldn't assume they won't.

And: Seriously, thanks for bringing this up in the HOA meeting and taking it to the next step. I appreciate it and I'm sure the other dog owners and home owners do too.

-Chris

 

Question: I realize that animal feces can spread germs and disease but what is the impact on the environment of all those plastic bags of poop sitting in landfills? I have cats and researched the litter box issue - apparently the litter, poop, and pee should not be dumped or composted because of the possible spread of disease. Some are advertised as being able to be flushed down the toilet but I wonder if the sanitation department agrees that it is acceptable. I don't really want to contribute to the landfills any more than absolutely necessary but do wish to keep my pets.

So what is the best answer for the health and safety of our community and planet? You can buy special biodegradable bags for the poop that are supposed to break down. Is that the best option?

 

Villager- I am pretty certain the doggy mitts provided by our hoa are biodegrable-at least that's what I saw printed on the bags.

None the less it is a great point you brought up.

 

Cliff:
Thanks for having a little bit of an open mind on this and asking the board to find out more about the signs. Your clarification also indicates that you now believe education will not have MUCH impact on behavior, which seems to be a change from your post on December 20:

"Educate all you want. I'd be willing to bet that those that let their dogs crap everywhere will continue to do so, no matter how much you try and educate them. They just don't care.
THe HOA is not going to spend thousands of dollars on a mailer that many won't bother to read, nor change the activity of poop violaters. Nor would a sign, trash can, and mitt bag on every corner.
What do I think might work? If you see someone's dog do it, scoop it up while it's still fresh. Follow, discreetly, to find out where they live. Bring the poop and slam it down onto their front porch (so it makes a nice "splat"). Ring the bell and sweetly say, "Gee, you left something behind."
But that's just my opinion. I could be wrong."

I fully appreciate that you have a unique perspective on this problem as a resident and Board member. May I ask, for the benefit of forum participants, what you would ACTUALLY do if you saw a dog ordinance violation on the front lawn of your nice home by a bigger, tougher looking man you did not know? For example, would you a) follow the guy home ("discreetly," of course) and do what you suggested above; b) confront politely, asking him to pick up the poop; c) follow the guy home ("discreetly") and later call him before the board for a witness confrontation and $50 fine; d) call Animal Care and Control and ask that an Officer educate the guy about the ordinance and potential fine and criminal conviction; or e) something else; eg, just pick it up and do nothing? I think we might all benefit from your wisdom and experience applied to what you would do if it happened to you.

 

First of all, I haven't changed my opinion. Your requoting my last post is still my position.
I gave an example of something I personally have done in the past, and it was quite effective. I have also done "b" and "e".

Here's an example of what I wouldn't do:
A new neighbor moves in behind me. They have a dog. Both owners are out and in there yard. The dog runs out of their yard onto my property. The owner immediately calls the dog back.
I wouldn't then immediately complain to the HOA, and call the county on the person for having a dog running loose.
Who does that sound like to you?

That's my "wisdom and experience" for you.

 

hmmmmm interesting example, Cliff.
We had precisely a very similar experience right here in our little corner of paradise, except that our "new neighbors" had lived in the house for several months and had repeatedly and daily allowed their dogs run loose all over several of our neighbor's yards, peeing on other lawns (really) and running all the way up the stairs and onto one neighbor's deck (scaring the heck out of our neighbor's very elderly and non-english speaking grandparents) while BOTH of these "new" owners were out in their yard doing other things. This was a very interesting situation, quite humorous actually...

Their rude actions caused a chain of events on the street behind them (our street). We all got fences over the next few months because it seemed pretty clear that they were not going to get a fence for their dogs any time soon.

They just got a fence... finally.
The funny thing is... long before those neighbors ever moved in, we and our neighbors on our street were talking about fences at our street picnic and we all stated that we were not interested in ever getting a fence. Next thing you know we are all paying several thousand $ for fencing our property because of our new neighbors

Your last comment did not have anything to do with the pooping issue, however I just thought I would share this since your example sort of reminded me of this

 

Thanks for trying to answer my question, Cliff. I guess I made it too hard by being so specific. I was pleasantly surprised, though, that you have shown flexibility in the past in addressing this problem. I think this is the key to dealing with this serious community issue. Consider ALL of the facts and circumstances before choosing what you think will be the most effective response.

Re your question, the answer looks fairly obvious. It sounds like a dog owner's story, responding to the HOA or the county. Once again, we should consider ALL facts and circumstances before deciding what makes sense.

 

I'm not sure what your point is here. I answered your question, and was specific. What is not clear to you in my response?