Crapper's Park

I love taking Matilda for a walk. She's always so excited to be outside and I enjoy watching her enjoy herself. I also use the time to be alone with my thoughts. I let my mind wonder. I pay attention to small things that I wouldn't normally notice.

And everyday during our walk, I have to play the "dodge the crap" game. But this morning, I wasn't paying attention and stepped right in a fresh pile of it.

Here's the rant: Why can't people pick up their dog's crap?! I mean, really, how difficult is it? It's not. I do it everyday, twice a day. I don't understand why people think that it's okay to leave their dog's crap in an open field - an open field where kids play and sometimes run around barefoot. It angers me that I can't walk through the park without having to dodge the dog poop. Something must be done about this.

My town already has an ordinance that addresses this problem.

Sec. 3-2.2. Animal excrement removal.(a) Any person who owns, possesses or controls an animal shall immediately remove any excrement deposited by the animal upon any street, gutter, sidewalk, public parking lot, public park, or any other public area.(b) A person is in compliance with this section if the person removes the excrement and carries it away for proper disposal, or if he places the excrement in a bag, wrapper or other container, and deposits it in a litter receptacle.(c) This section shall not apply to a person who has a physical handicap which would prevent the person from complying with the requirements of this section.(Ord. No. 827, 6-3-96)
Sec. 3-3. Penalty for violation of chapter. Except where it is otherwise provided, any person, firm or corporation who shall violate any provision of this chapter shall be deemed guilty of an infraction, the fine for which shall be $100.00, and every day that a violation continues after due notice has been served in conformity with the terms and provisions of Ann. Code of Md. Art. 23A, § 3(b), shall be deemed a separate offense.(Code 1972, § 3.13; Ord. No. 600, § 1; Ord. No. 730, § 1, 8-15-88; Ord. No. 905, 8-5-02)

The real problem is that no one enforces the ordinance. If this town really wanted to make some money, they should have someone watching to park. If a fine had been imposed for each pile of crap I either walked past or in this morning, the city would have had an extra $1500 in its budget. After a few days of writing tickets for not picking up dog poop, the town could continue to fund some of the programs for children that will probably be on the chopping block if new money is not found. And maybe the word would get out about the dog poop tickets and owners would take more responsibility for their dogs.

I'm going to lobby my town council about this. I'll keep you posted.