People Who Let Their Dogs Shit On Someone Else's Property & Don't Pick it up are Scum of the Earth!

Vindog5/18/2023 10:40 PM

fongleon356. Getty Images.

I've owned dogs for years, but I never walked them over to someone else's yard to shit 'n run, which has become quite popular in my neighborhood in recent years…

A woman down the street continually walked her two little dogs and let them shit on my property. Maybe she thought it was okay, or that little dog poops don't count, but as soon as I identified her as the culprit, I put a stop to it…

I picked up all the poop, put it in a freezer bag, and walked it over to her house. When she didn't answer the door, I left it on her front stairs. She got the message and then stopped walking her little dogs on my property. Over the last ten years, I've never seen her use poop bags, and we haven't spoken…

Then there's my sneaky backdoor neighbor… He's been retired for years, and he walks his dog three to four times a day and lets him shit everywhere, and he never picks anything up. He's so arrogant he doesn't even carry bags. I've walked 50 yards behind him and his dog, and the pooch will shit on the edge of the road or on someone's property, and then the two of them will hurry away, leaving the shit for someone else to clean up. One guy almost beat the crap out of him, and if he had, I would've cheered. Maybe he thinks his dog shitting on other people's property is okay… Well, it's NOT okay!

A friend and neighbor of mine has three daughters, and they rescued a German Shepherd mix, and good on them, but the deal they made with their father was they wouldn't ruin his yard, they would walk the dog…

All three girls shared the dog walking chores the first winter (2022), and at least one of them let the dog shit all over my side yard. I didn't know they weren't picking it up until the snow melted, and there were big piles of dog poop hiding under it.

Marco Vacca. Getty Images.

The day I picked it all up and was carrying a shovel full across the street to dump deep in the woods, one of the girls walked by with the Shepherd. I held out the loaded shovel and asked, "Are you picking up the poop?" She made an awkwardly sarcastic face and then pointed to the poop bags on the leash, but she didn't say a word… I responded, "I hope you're using them…" They weren't, but they stopped walking their dog on my property but continued letting their pooch shit on the grass by the edge of the road and not picking it up. Apparently, the bags were for show. They must've felt that as long as it wasn't on the road, it was okay. But, for those of us who walk/run down the street and have had to jump onto the grass/wooded area to avoid getting hit by a car or truck, it's very easy to step in it, especially at night.

Forget about dog poop for a moment, dog urine is full of ammonia, which contains nitrogen, which kills grass. So, if you're starting to see dead patches of grass on your lawn, it could be the result of your neighbor walking his/her dog onto your property when you're not home…

Several years ago, a kid walked his Beagle up and down the street, singing at the top of his lungs, sometimes late at night, which was very annoying. He had a lousy playlist, and he couldn't sing for shit. That didn't bother me, but when he let his dog shit by my mailbox and then just left it there, I was bothered. I only discovered what he had done when I ran over the pile of shit with my lawnmower, filling the treads of the tires with dog poop, requiring me to stop mowing and spend a half hour cleaning the tires. That's when I got fucking pissed!

The next time he was walking his dog and singing at the top of his lungs, I went out and stopped him. I told him I knew he let his dog shit on my lawn and that I ran over it with my mower and had to clean the tires. When he didn't apologize or even try and deny it, I told him if it happened again, he'd be in some serious trouble. After our conversation, he stopped walking his dog on my side of the street, but in the middle of the night, when my house was asleep, he started walking his dog in my front yard, and every morning there was poop halfway between the road and my front stairs. I stopped him again and told him if I caught him doing it, I'd rub his nose in it, and why not, it wasn't the dog's fault, it was on him. He started walking his dog on the other side of the street. Let 'em eat shit, right?

Robert Alexander. Getty Images.

Am I being a bastard? Absolutely not! It's not my dog shit, pick it up or start letting your dog shit on your own property! In Massachusetts, under "Removal and Proper Disposal of Dog Feces, the law reads: The owner, keeper, or person otherwise in control of a dog shall immediately pick up and properly dispose of any feces left by such dog on any street, sidewalk, other public area, or on any private property that is not owned or occupied by such person."

In 2004, Milton, MA enacted a Dog Fouling Bylaw. To summarize: It's the duty of the person who owns the dog to remove its feces from any public or private areas. The owner should have some kind of "tool" on his/her person to remove the feces. Failure to do so can result in fines as high as $100, enforceable by local law enforcement (cops).

In Milford, MA, you can't let your dog poop in a public place. That includes parks, ball fields, right-of-ways, sidewalks, and curbs. Your dog drops it; you pocket it. Violators get charged $25, which is what a lot of towns in Massachusetts charge irresponsible pet owners for a first offense. Second or subsequent offenses can incur a $50.00 fine. Surprisingly, the law doesn't apply to service or hunting dogs.

In the UK, picking up your dog's poop is a much bigger crime. You can be fined up to £80 ($100 US) on the spot, and this also includes not carrying the means to pick up poop, regardless of whether or not your dog has actually pooped. If you refuse to pay the fine, you can be taken to court and face a penalty of up to £1000 ($1,250 US).

Here's what some of the top cities in the United States are fining pet owners who are caught leaving dog poop on public or private property…

New York City, New York: $250

San Francisco, California: $320

Los Angeles, California: $500

Washington, D.C: $150 – $2,000

Chicago, Illinois: $50 – $500

Houston, Texas: $75 – $500

Austin, Texas: Up to $500

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: $300

Miami, Florida: $50

Seattle, Washington: $54 – $109

Denver, Colorado: $125

Boston, Massachusetts: $50 – $100

Baltimore, Maryland: $100 – $1,000

In a high-end neighborhood down the street from me in Norton, an ambitious high school student who's Dad is a ranking member of the homeowner's association, had the idea to install two poles with poop bag dispensers and signs asking dog owners to pick up after themselves, one at either end of the horseshoe-shaped street. It was part of a school project. I was able to ask a woman in the neighborhood, who at the time was walking her two dogs and carrying two full poop bags, what she thought about people who don't use bags, and she felt they were "irresponsible pet owners" and that "everyone who walks their dog has the responsibility to clean up after…" I couldn't agree more!

In the comments, let me know your thoughts on dog owners who shit 'n run…

Don't get me started on horse owners… Everyone thinks it's funny until they step in it…