Thanks For A Crappy Walk

The other day I decided because the weather was so nice (for March) I would grab my camera, hop in my car and take a drive to my favourite campground at Presqu’ile Provincial Park. I figured I could take some photos of the winter thaw and get a little exercise while I was at it.

It was an overcast day but the winds were calm away from the lake shore and it was quite nice walking through the woods. With my camera in hand I slipped down by the shore to shoot some of the ice formations that were melting and receding due to the increase in temperatures and recent rainfall.

Earlier I had noticed a group of people heading up the snow covered road towards the trails near the group campground. Prior to the natives being allowed into the park the last few years to stalk and kill dozens of friendly and beautiful deer, it was quite common to see the animals feeding in this area and was a major attraction to the park. I guess the lives of some plants are more important than those of living creatures. But I digress.

As I cleared the barrier blocking vehicle access to this area I came across a most disgusting site. It quickly became evident that this was not only a place for people to walk but also an apparent ideal location for dog owners to let their dogs squat and defecate.

What a mess I saw before me. As a former dog owner I was appalled with not only this site but also the fact that these pet owners wouldn’t clean up after their animals. How would they feel if someone let their dog go on their yard? I’m sure these are the same people who don’t flush public restroom toilets and they’re obviously uncouth and uneducated as well.

How hard is it to carry a plastic bag or two in your pocket, use it to grab the crap, turn the bag inside out, tie it in a knot and then drop it in a garbage container? They could accomplish that in less time than it took me to type this sentence.

Back to the scene before me…I counted no less than 14 piles of dog droppings and I’m sure I would have found even more if I’d bothered to walk further along the road.

When did it become OK for pet owners to ignore their responsibilities? Did they just figure because it was winter that the next snowfall would cover it up and nobody would notice? NEWS FLASH…snow melts you idiots! Even if the crap does become covered in snow it will eventually melt and we’re left looking at the same disgusting site. But I suppose since you’re long gone it doesn’t matter.

The downside for dog owners is that regardless of whether or not you pick up after your pet, most people will still look at you as if you could be the guilty one. That’s right…you're guilty until witnessed stooping and scooping and you can blame your fellow animal friendly yet disgusting dog owners for that.

I couldn’t help but wonder how it was that nobody saw these sick buggers and didn’t say anything after they witnessed them not cleaning up their mess. It might be something that comes with age or perhaps you’re born with it but I would have no trouble using my voice to point out the errors of their ways. Sure they can choose to ignore me and I may or may not go over and clean it up, nevertheless you can bet if I knew which car they got out of, I would make sure there was a treat waiting for them on the hood of their vehicle when they returned from walking Fido.

While writing this editorial I came across an interesting albeit descriptive commentary produced by a fellow blogger that I thought you might enjoy. You can view it be clicking here.