Lazy dog owners in Newton and Waltham
Most mornings, I drop my daughter off at her preschool in Newton. On warm days, they play outside in the fenced-in playground next to the building, which is accessed via walking across the lawn to the fence gate.
Next to the playground is an apartment building, which has a side door opening onto the lawn. This morning, as I helped my daughter get out of the car, I noticed a young man letting his large dog out onto the lawn to do his doggie business. The man had obviously just rolled out of bed, because he was not wearing shoes and his hair was messed up. He watched from the doorway as the dog squatted to start taking a dump. I was about to say something to him -- kids and parents walk across the lawn to drop off at the playground -- but someone beat me to it. The caretaker of the building that houses the school, playground, and lawn, had come out to mow the lawn and he was very upset about the lazy dog owner letting his dog use the lawn as his private dumping ground.
"I told you, don't let your dog crap on the lawn!" he said angrily. "I got to clean it up!"
Obviously this was an ongoing problem. The young dog owner shuffled across the lawn to grab the dog by his collar, but didn't say anything for about 20 seconds, while the caretaker continued to harangue him. Then he said, "Calm down. Calm down. He's just urinating."
"Then let him urinate in your apartment. We got kids around here!"
The caretaker is absolutely right, and this young guy, who is too lazy to take his hound out for a proper walk and clean up after the mess, is absolutely wrong, and he knows it. But he clearly doesn't give a toss -- he's been warned before, and didn't change his ways.
I see a lot of responsible dog owners in Newton and Waltham, but there's a hard-core minority who are too lazy to clean up after their pets. I see the evidence on the street, and in front of my house, which really pisses me off.
There are fines and ordinances against this, and sometimes they are actually enforced: Once I saw someone fined by the police for letting their dog take an early-morning dump on the grounds of the Whittemore elementary school in Waltham. What are they thinking? Do they feel no shame? Do they understand that people might be angry about their kids having to dodge dog feces when at school?
Final note: After observing this encounter this morning, my daughter didn't say anything. It was the first time she had seen adults argue in this way, and probably not the last.
Next to the playground is an apartment building, which has a side door opening onto the lawn. This morning, as I helped my daughter get out of the car, I noticed a young man letting his large dog out onto the lawn to do his doggie business. The man had obviously just rolled out of bed, because he was not wearing shoes and his hair was messed up. He watched from the doorway as the dog squatted to start taking a dump. I was about to say something to him -- kids and parents walk across the lawn to drop off at the playground -- but someone beat me to it. The caretaker of the building that houses the school, playground, and lawn, had come out to mow the lawn and he was very upset about the lazy dog owner letting his dog use the lawn as his private dumping ground.
"I told you, don't let your dog crap on the lawn!" he said angrily. "I got to clean it up!"
Obviously this was an ongoing problem. The young dog owner shuffled across the lawn to grab the dog by his collar, but didn't say anything for about 20 seconds, while the caretaker continued to harangue him. Then he said, "Calm down. Calm down. He's just urinating."
"Then let him urinate in your apartment. We got kids around here!"
The caretaker is absolutely right, and this young guy, who is too lazy to take his hound out for a proper walk and clean up after the mess, is absolutely wrong, and he knows it. But he clearly doesn't give a toss -- he's been warned before, and didn't change his ways.
I see a lot of responsible dog owners in Newton and Waltham, but there's a hard-core minority who are too lazy to clean up after their pets. I see the evidence on the street, and in front of my house, which really pisses me off.
There are fines and ordinances against this, and sometimes they are actually enforced: Once I saw someone fined by the police for letting their dog take an early-morning dump on the grounds of the Whittemore elementary school in Waltham. What are they thinking? Do they feel no shame? Do they understand that people might be angry about their kids having to dodge dog feces when at school?
Final note: After observing this encounter this morning, my daughter didn't say anything. It was the first time she had seen adults argue in this way, and probably not the last.
posted by Borderline at 6/15/2005 08:31:00 AM
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