PET peeved.

how many of you have a pet? a pet that you take outdoors? well, do you have a neighbor/friend/family member that has a pet that goes outdoors?

i thought so.

these are just my thoughts on an unleashed issue...
if you don't have your own pet [typically a dog] that goes outside, you at least know someone who has one. i actually have two dogs that go outside. so now you know one person with an outdoor pet!
i take my two dogs outside multiple times a day to walk them and let them take care of their "doggie business." they both are on a leash, for a variety of reasons. aside from it being the law, i do it to protect them. they both listen very well, but after all, they are dogs. and who knows what will distract them in this great, exciting world. or what will heighten those animalistic instincts. i am not willing to take that risk.
however, a lot of other people in my neighborhood do not walk their dogs on leashes. this really bothers me. i find it unsafe, for many reasons. many times i have been outside with my dogs and leash-less dogs have come running up to us. this often scares them. so now they are on-guard and perhaps aren't as eager to meet this new dog who just startled them. aside from that, if your dog is off running around the neighborhood, aren't you worried about them getting hit by a car? gosh, i would be! there is plenty of fast traffic through our neighborhood and we live off of a major road. it is a dangerous world for a dog who could easily and quickly wonder away from home.

now, most of us live in a place that has a leash law. what exactly is a leash law? it is a law that explains the rule requirements of your pet wearing a leash.

this is the leash law for the town i live in:

"Greenville has a "leash law" that prohibits owners from letting their dogs run free at any time. Owners are required to keep dogs under control when walking and to have pets inoculated [vaccinated]. It is wise to consider the responsibility in having a pet. Please understand the cost and care involved BEFORE you adopt an animal. Consider and plan appropriately what you will do with a pet if you cannot take it with you when you move."
[however, this really could be very subjective because nowhere does it say that the dog has to be restrained. it just says cannot run free. so technically, the dog does not have to be on a leash.]

here are some other leash laws:

raleigh, nc:
"It is against the law for domesticated animals such as dogs and cats to run unrestrained within the City Limits. They must be confined to their guardian's property or walked on a leash. Guardians of dogs and cats can receive a misdemeanor citation for allowing their pets to run at large."

new york city:
"...all dogs must be restrained by a leash or chain not more than six feet in length when the animal is in a public place (except in designated off leash areas)."

chicago:
"The owner of a dog must restrain his or her animal by a leash, confined within a crate, cage or vehicle, or confined on the owner's premises."


leash laws exist for a reason. mostly for you and the dog's safety. here are some of the things that could go wrong during an unleashed doggie walk.

• fido sees something exciting and chooses not to listen to firm commands of "leave it", "stay", "come" or whatever else is being yelled at him. he is off to the races. have fun chasing him. again.
• fido loves to greet new humans, but not all humans like to be greeted by fido. fido is so happy to see a new human, he jumps up on them [since he is not being restrained by a leash]. the human gets upset. ugly words ensue.
• fido has his walking route memorized. he runs ahead, while not paying attention to traffic....need i say more?
• fido meets new dogs, who are on leashes. they are not amused at being ambushed by some random dog. ugly words ensue. 

i am sure fido is a wonderful dog who always listens. or is always nice to new humans and other dogs.

but it only takes one time. one time of fido running away never to be found again. one time of fido trampling over an unsuspecting human. one time of fido chasing something he shouldn't. one time of fido greeting another dog by means of an ambush.

because after all, fido is animal. and no matter how well the humans think they have this animal trained, he will never lose his animalistic instincts to kill, protect, and chase.

woof.

xoxo,
ks

more poop.

as i was walking the dogs last night, a not-so-friendly neighbor decided to engage in a not-so-friendly conversation with me. perhaps you remember a previous blog regarding dog poop. it was the same old man wanting to give me his opinion on, ask he likes to say, dog shit.

let me give you the run down. layla had just pooped. i had just picked it up, as i always do. and we were on our way. i faintly hear someone talking behind me. i turn around and see this man. i think "oh crap. here we go again." he goes onto to tell me that we both have big dogs [thanks for stating the obvious] and he doesn't let his dog shit in other people's yards and doesn't want to have to walk through shit to walk his dog. i kindly showed him the bag of poop i was holding and informed him that i picked up my dog's poop. he seemed shocked, said, "oh. well, thank you." and that was the end of it. it was as if he thought he had caught me leaving poop and when i shoved it in his face, he didn't have anything else to say.

i should give this guy a few suggestions for dealing with his issues with dog shit.

1. if you don't want to walk through dog shit, don't step in it.
2. we live in a townhome community, so technically the yard my dog pooped in was mine.
3. if you want people to actually listen to your message, try not to be a dick.
4. if sharing space with your neighbors and their dogs is too much for you, move out.
5. above all, dog shit is a part of having a dog. so be a responsible owner, pick up your shit and stop crying about it.

i am so frustrated with this person. who does he think he is? this is the second time he has attempted to berate me about my dogs. i clean up after them. every time. i can't speak to the rest of the community because there is a lot of poop laying around, but that isn't my fault. and by being an asshole [to me and possibly others] will not motivate anyone to start [or continue] picking up after their dogs. today when my dogs pooped, i wanted to pick it up and take it to his door step.

i want to handle this situation so that this person doesn't continue to treat me and my neighbors poorly. how would you handle this? what would you do next?


oh poop.

xoxo,
ks

pick up your poop.

in case you didn't get it from the title, this blog is all about poop. you have been warned.

so, i was walking our dogs, in our new neighborhood on saturday. we live in a condo community. so all of the natural areas are considered shared/common areas. it's designated for everyone, humans and pets. the landscaping is well maintained and there is even a sign that says "notice: pick up after your pet. $100 fine." what? $100 fine? how could they enforce that? regardless, i am fine with that because we always pick up after our dogs. plus, i don't want to step in any poop.

back to the walk. we were walking and layla has to poop. we were in one of the common, grassy areas. as she was pooping, i took the bag off the leash to pick it up. then this man pops out of his condo. i thought he was going to make some dumb comment about how big my dogs are. (I mean, no kidding they are big). he does make a comment about them and them being pretty and how he probably loves his dogs as much as i love mine. then he says he doesn't want to have to walk through shit to take his dog outside. i was thinking "what the fuck? i have a damn bag on my hand. what is the point of this lecture, old guy?" he goes on and on about how i should take my dogs over to the wooded area to let them go to the bathroom.
when he finally stopped running his mouth. i said to him that i had a BAG ON MY HAND, and i proceeded to show it to him. i also informed him that i was going to pick up the poop and that i didn't like walking through it either.
he let me know that he admired me for picking up after my dog, but still encouraged me to take them to the woods to take care of their business.

the more i thought about this conversation, the more frustrated i got, for many reasons.
this man doesn't want to walk through shit to walk his dog. i totally get that. however, i am not certain why i was getting reamed about that issue, since i was about to pick up the shit once my dog was done shitting. i always pick up the shit. now, if i was a person who always left the shit, and he came to notice this, then fine...give me a 5 minute lecture about it. it would make more sense. however, i am walking my dogs, minding my business and doing the right thing and this guys still thinks he has the right to fuss at me. what the hell?

also, he must have said 10 times for me to take my dogs to the wooded area to poop. the more he said that the more i thought, "you sir, are lazy." you are giving me a hard time for walking my dog and then letting my dog poop where they are allowed to and supposed to; and then picking it up. however, you are not walking your dog, you simply take your dog to the backside of your building to poop so you don't have to pick up the poop. i will walk my dog where ever i want to. because i know that with having a dog, comes having to exercise them and cleaning up after them. it's called being a responsible dog owner.

this guy lecturing me was at least in his 60s, if not older. his lecture came across as "oh, here is this young person...let me go ahead and tell them what to do." i really do not care that you are older, younger, shorter, taller than me. it gives you no right to be condescending and rude. you are no better than me.

so, my solution to the problem? pick up their poop and leave it on his door step. this way he knows i cleaned up after my dogs. and he won't have to walk through shit. (just kidding. i would never do that. i would like to do that because this guy deserves it).

all i know is, that i am not going to change my dog walking habits because this guy is lazy and rude. we'll see what he thinks about that...

xoxo,
ks