Please Pick Up Your Dog Mess!

redon!-
We posted at the same time! Great minds think alike!!

 

When we first moved in our neighbors let their dog crap wherever it wanted and they did not clean up.
I did sorta what Cliff suggested and there has not been any issues since.

 

ummm- does that mena you should now refer to me as Madam President...? lol

 

Hey Folks-
so I like the responses and though I'd love to throw poop on the offenders, that gets us into a situation whereby we are vandalizing someones property does it not? What is the difference in me throwing poop on someones step and a teenager throwin an egg at someones door?

I don't think it is right to put responsible pet owners in a situation (by 'throwing' it back on the non-respondible peoples property) that may end up in legal action or even a physical altercation.

One thing that can and should be done is placing 'Pick up after your pet it is the Law. Violators will be Fined $xyz" signs on the poop trach stations. This is something I've seen in other communities and at parks. It at least makes the irresponsible pet owners more aware. It can't hurt thats for sure.

Also, by asking the HOA to take notice of this problem (and it is a problem, as I've stated in this post before in regards to health risks, not to mention an overall lack of any respect for other homeowners) and maybe, I dunno, putting a sign at the end of the community asking people to pick up their mess .. it shows pet owners that people are aware and are watching.

I believe offenders will be less likely to do this if they happen to know the HOA and other homeowners are actively looking into this problem and will be vigilante about it.

We can put up signs around the area that promote Farmers markets at the Nature Center, why not a sign that just says: "Please be responsible and care for your neighborhood, pick up after your pet.. its the law"

A sign like that would cost minimal money and wouldn't need to be up all the time, try one day out of the weekend for a month, and lets see if it helps reduce the problem.

On top of this, now we have to clean up the mess that already exists.

Just down the road from the crap left ont he sidewalk is a common area, behind the Miller and Smith TH's on the corner of Sunderleigh and Fieldthorn. I kid you not, there are about 12 piles of dog poop right near the sidewalk. It is an absolute disgrace.

If the HOA can go around and notify people of long grass, wrong size trash cans, wrong color paint or any other infringement, I believe they should just show that they care about the overall well being of the community and notify people it is a problem.

Yes they did this in the newsletter a few months ago, but the same problem exists there that some of you state.. offenders are not likely to read the newsletter, no more so than they would read a flyer.

If I don't see some action soon, I will personally wget a sign created and stand on the street corner. Or better yet, I'll place flags in the ground at every mess I see left on the ground.

 

problem is that I never see anyone not picking it up. It's always just there mysteriously.

I did catch a woman last week and called her on it. I gave her a bag and she cleaned up, but I rarely catch folks in the act.

 

Isn't that the truth

Lee j

 

When residents are sent violation letters, "we" know who the violator is....there is no way to identify which neighborhood dog left his mess on the ground...

...and please remember - "They" (the HOA) are YOU...The HOA's membership is composed of all the owners in Broadlands...Management carries out the directives of the Board of Directors who were elected by the members and represent the owners...

I also live here and I agree that this is a problem...but the solution starts with neighbors asking neighbors to be responsible...the 7 members of the management staff cannot possibly alleviate this problem!

 

if you think it's a repeat offender (the person that left it on the sidewalk) - you could put a sign by it asking them to pick it up. as a dog owner (which picks up after their dog!), i normally walk the dog on most of the same routes. this particular owner is likely to see it again, and soon. it may one way of alleviating an altercation, but at the same time let it be known that what they didn't isn't right. just a thought.

 

For those of you who would rather avoid a direct confrontation, I have a more passive-aggresive solution for you--pick it up and throw it onto their porch, or their driveway, or their car (when they're not looking so as to avoid that confrontation). That way you're not trespassing. And you're not littering, either. You are simply returning something of theirs that they left behind...

 

“Gemeinschaft und Gesellschaft”

A major theme in sociology is that problems arise as a social system becomes so big that people lose their sense of connection. Nothing fosters moral behaivor more than the thought that we might run into the person that we offended on the street the next day. Until we solve that problem, the responsible dog owners can pick up "stuff" and question those who do not. As a dog owner, my sense is that it is a minority of those that cause a problem. However, it is a major problem.

 

To mamatothree:

Thanks for sharing. I don't think any of us in this thread expect or even alluded to the management 'alleviating' this problem. On the contrary, what I have said and asked at least is that the HOA (or management or anyone with control over making larger decisions for the good of our community) help to EDUCATE, create AWARNESS that this is a problem.

Placing a notice in the newsletter obviously did no good. So then, how about a simple sign/banner at the entrance/exits to the main roads in our community urging people to be responsible. It works for Water conservation notices.

The issue with some of us going to our neighbors and asking is this: The problem isn't related to just one area in the community. So I can talk to my neighbors but that doesn't halp out the situation down the street. And, what about the consistent mess left on the sides of the trails back in the woods? Do I knock on every single door?

That is why I'm asking that management or HOA, take a proactive approach and put up a general announcment or sign that can actually get noticed by everyone.

 

what if we do what the cops do to catch people with a warrant out for their arrest? we'll give all known pet owners an invitation to a fab free buffet at the community center, and then once we're all there, LOCK the door behind us and make us sign contracts to pick up dog poop or be fined $100/turd or to be given community service poop picking up duty for rpt offenses!!! it could work...

kidding aside- in a community this size does anyone TRULY believe this will ever stop? it's less of a problem here than I've seen in other communities, no matter how annoying it is to all of us. little kids walk dogs, inconsiderate adults walk dogs, people who forget the poop bag and the dog goes unexpectedly where there are no bags... it's endless. it's like exercise and eating right- we all KNOW we should do it, but we don't if we don't friggin' want to. nobody ACTUALLY thinks it's ok to leave poop- it's just that certain people couldn't give a- ahem- CRAP about being a good neighbor.
the HOA has gone above and beyond with bags and trash bins, and newsletter reminders- none of that changes a person's nature.

bottom line: catch them, shame them, catch them and shame them again until they move or their pet expires. it will NOT go away, much like this thread.... lol

 

a4 - I understand your points - we've lived here for 3+ years and this has been an ongoing issue.

To your point the HOA has already provided numerous pet waste disposal stations throughout the community and consistently has something in the news-letter ...this is being proactive.

Our HOA staff is very limited with respect to human capital resources and I think your idea of more signage has some merit - I would encourage you as a homeowner to present this idea to the HOA BoD during their monthly meeting.

Unfortunately & IMO to have the limited resources of our HOA staff to start policing irresponsible pet owners may not be a feasible resolution, however your idea of a sign might be something to consider.

 

I definitely don’t think the HOA can police this or deal with it. I posted to the boards to get the community involved.

I will be at the next HOA meeting – especially for SW and I will bring this up.

I posted because I would like to encourage action among us – the residents – to be active and call out folks that we see don’t pick up their messes. I know a limited amount of us check the boards, so please talk to your neighbors and pass the word on.

 

I hear ya!

We live in a beautiful community and its frustrating to walk on the sidewalk jumping over land/dog mines.

I have a couple of 'if you dog poops please scoop" signs that you can have (havent had too much of an issue since we installed the cameras on our property and confronted walkers usually in mid-stream/deposit)

 

Honestly, I have seen VERY FEW Poops on the sidewalk adjacent to our house, and we literally have 20-30 dogs walk by each day. And to be perfectly honest, if one "left a deposit" this would bother me about .01 on a scale of 0-10. Can we push to the forefront more important, albeit more difficult, issues with our community, such as VanMetre's insensitivity to environmental issues, the negative impact on property values that a hospital would have, people parking "in their driveways" but blocking the sidewalk (which forces pedestrians into traffic), and most importantly, the lack of a big stakes weekly poker game in the neighborhood.

We may need to drop the ZERO tolerance on pooping dogs. My dog does NOT poop anymore while on walks, but when she did, I actually FORGOT to bring my biodegradable bags on a couple of occassions. Can you imagine my horror at leaving a single poop in the grass? As an FYI, the problem is not with the poop, but through mowing the area that the poop is in, the breakdown of the fecal matter is accelerated beyond its natural rate. If left to disintegrate at a normal rate, very little, if any, harmful bacteria would enter the water table. (Source:
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Pitt, R. 1998. Epidemiology and Stormwater Management. Stormwater Quality Management.)[/FONT]

 

I would have no interest in bannering our community with dog poop rules. Sorry.
These will be ignored just like the Newsletter articles. I think you are mistaken in thinking that someone will change their behavior about this issue based on being "educated." I would venture to guess that 95% of these people that do it know that it is wrong and do it anyways.

I know many do not want to confront people personally, but it has been my experience that it is the BEST way to achieve results.
We have had calls from residents that witness someone's dog and want the HOA to do something about it. They are advised that we can pursue it if they are willing to be named as a witness to the incident. 99% then say "nevermind."

 

... I don’t want my baby rolling around in our own freaking lawn and potentially get sick b/c an irresponsible dog owner didn't pick up the waste. I shouldn’t have to examine every inch of my property just so my kid wont come into contact with fecal matter left behind.

In addition animals like to mark territories and people's private property should NOT be a public toilet not even for my own two dogs.

Dont know what street you live on, we' ve had a weekly game on our street for over a year.

The EPA "estimates that a single gram of dog waste can contain 23 million fecal coliform bacteria” not to metion worms, parasites etc - here is an EPA link (and attachment)
EPA, Petwaste & watertables

 

I am trying to not be too contraversial, but did you read the article. Although pet waste is the only contaminant that a pet owner can influence directly, the article stated that "nearly 20% of of the bacteria were matched with dogs". That means that 80% are other sources; Most often these are humans and livestock. The article focused on feces influence when pets feces are deposited near a water source and allowing dog feces to disappate naturally is an option. (ie: the "tall grass" solution).

My point is this...

• Most pet owners are responsible most of the time, but they may fail to scoop an occassional poop.
• A small minority of pet owners are irresponsible, and they will never scoop.
• In my observations, the worst thing that I saw was a lady who scooped her dogs poop, put it in a non-biodegradable grocery bag, and threw it down the sewer. I would have prefered that she would have done NOTHING, rather than giving both pollutants (bag and poop) an express route to my drinking water and/or the Chesapeake Bay.