Dorchester loves their dogs – so let’s do better!
As a dog owner, we all like to think we are responsible but judging by the amount of poop bags left on the sidewalk, we are not. So we thought we’d offer some tips to help us all become better dog owners.
Pick up your poop
Peter Gailunas has written several blogs about the importance of picking up poop. Bottom line – just pick up your dog’s poop. There was recently a situation in the neighborhood where a resident was injured due to dog poop!
Throw the poop bag away
You’ve done the hard part. You’ve picked up a steaming pile of dog shit with a bag. Now throw the bag in the trash (and your own trash barrel not a neighbor’s trash barrel). Don’t place it next to a tree or on the sidewalk or in the gutter. Put it in the garbage. The bags of poop aren’t going to miraculously disappear. They will sit where you left them until a concerned and upstanding citizen picks them up and puts them in the trash. Don’t be a jerk. Throw your poop bags away.
Don’t let your dog “go” on people’s property
Don’t let your dog pee or poop on people’s stoops. There’s a dog in my neighborhood that pees on my pots of flowers on my stoop at least twice a week. Who is letting their dog do that? How rude. One reader shared a photo with us of a giant pile of dog shit on their stoop. Honestly? Who lets their dog do this and then just leave it? Come on!
Stay off of fields where kids play
There are plenty of parks and green space to let your dogs go. No reason to let your dogs go on baseball, soccer and football fields where kids are rolling around. Common sense. This has become an issue in Swampscott that people refer to the irresponsible dog owners as the “dog mafia.” True Story Alert: During a Little League game, a woman was walking her dog in the field…..the outfield. She complained to the coach when a ball landed near her dog. “Lady, this is a baseball field,” said the coach. “Well, this is where my dog likes to go,” responded the lady. SMH.
Keep your dog on a leash
We know dogs love to run around off-leash but if you’re at a park with people around keep them on a leash. Not everyone loves dogs. Especially ones running around with no owner in sight.
Don’t leave your dog in a car
Drop your dog at home before you go to the supermarket. They don’t want to wait in a car while you do your food shopping.
Don’t bring your dog with you
Dogs don’t belong in the CVS or the coffee shop. Unless your dog is a service dog, leave your dog at home.
We all live in this neighborhood together. Be respectful of your neighbors and use common sense. That is all!
Maureen Dahill is the editor of Caught in Southie and a lifelong resident of South Boston sometimes mistaken for a yuppie. Co-host of Caught Up, storyteller, lover of red wine and binge watching TV series. Mrs. Peter G. Follow her @MaureenCaught.
I agree with most of this except for the last one, “leave your dog at home.”
Most dogs are better behaved than most children in stores. Children are cesspools of germs that run around stores or sit at a table in restaurants screaming. Maybe they should be the ones left at home?
If people didn’t put fences or bricks around city trees, which is against city code, dogs would have more options to use those dirt spots as their release areas. I suggest the author writes about this instead.
I agree that people need to put their poop bags in the trash but don’t see any suggestions that the city puts more trash barrels around the city, not just for this, but for other people who throw glass bottles on sidewalks into the barrel, or just regular trash while in passing.
I’m not convinced the author is a dog owner. I don’t think someone with a dog would write an article telling you to leave your dog at home or not let them run on a field, especially one that doesn’t have a “no dog” sign posted