BHB Reader to Brooklyn Heights Dog Owners: Clean Up That “Gold”

By on May 23, 2010 7:09 pm in Pets

When I was a kid, my mother used to warn me not to step in “the gold” left on the street by neighborhood dogs.   It was much classier than dropping the “s” bomb I guess.  Anywho, that was before the awesome Fran Lee went on a tirade back in the 1970s and got NYC to pass its famed “Pooper Scooper” law.

Well, it seems that some dog owners –  close to 40 years after Ms. Lee won her battle against poo – still haven’t gotten the memo as this reader writes:

Dear Homer – On my three block walk to get a paper this morning I noticed no less than five fresh mounds of dog crap on the sidewalk. What the hell is going on around here. This non-pooper scooping business is getting way out of control. I have photographed a few of the human offenders from my window and I’m wondering if you would like to post them on your site. Let me know.

Your tired of stepping in dog crap neighbor,
Anonymous

PS I have attached a photo of some fresh evidence for your use.

That “evidence” is after the jump. IT’S NOT PRETTY.  CONTINUE AT YOUR OWN RISK. (Oh and we won’t be publishing photos of human offenders.)dog-POO-052310

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  • Maddie

    I know someone who I used to work with invented a pooper scooper (the Sooper Scooper, http://www.SooperScooper.com) for his neighbor when he takes his dog for a walk. Looks like this is perfect timing.

  • ny2bk

    weird… my post was removed… i’ll try it again:

    So a “A shocked BHB tipster” sends in a photo of a man in strange attire sunbathing in Brooklyn Bridge Park and it makes it into the blog as a full post (http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/18079#comments), but “members of our community” breaking the law, contributing to an unhygienic environment, and displaying extreme levels of disrespect for their neighbors and our neighborhood have their images censored? The man sunbathing didn’t ask to be photographed. He wasn’t doing anything illegal. Maybe he was doing something strange by our community standards, but he didn’t ask to be made into a blog post, and then ridiculed and flamed via the comment section. People that leave waste on our streets and show complete disregard for everyone around them do not deserve a higher level of respect…

    The dog has an excuse, the owner doesn’t.
    What the dog leaves behind is exactly what some of the people are.

    Living in BH for a decade I can tell you the fecal-on-the-floor situation has gotten much worse. Maybe it is just an increase in dog ownership in the neighborhood. Maybe it is an increase in dog walkers (including nannies) that may not feel obligated, to do the pick-up, since they may not live in the neighborhood. Or maybe more people just don’t care about “s#iting on their neighbors”.

    I thoroughly enjoy the dogs in the neighborhood and the majority of dog owners (except the few that also let their dogs walk around without a leash as other dogs that pass go absolutely nuts because of it). Kids get excited about them, people point and smile at the extra cute ones, and many visitors to our neighborhood get an enhanced vibe of the environment. But… numerous times I have approached dog owners/walkers that have left their dog’s little prize in the middle of the street or on the promenade (particularly reprehensible). It has almost always been met with very abrasive posturing no matter how I’ve broached the subject. You have the other phenomenon of the “pretending-to-look-at-the-phone-while-quickly-glancing-around-using-my-peripheral-vision-to-check-whether-anyone-is-watching-me-and-then-walk-away”. This has been met almost every time with a lackluster and over-dramatic performance of “I didn’t notice” or “oh, she/he went?!” Pretty sad to watch adults put on a performance instead of acting appropriately. Even more sad when those doing bad to a community get special treatment. Let’s make fun of a strange guy, or someone walking a dog while biking/scootering, but not those that are doing something extra “crappy” (and illegal) to all of us.

  • Izzy

    What’s wrong with giving these people the option to do the right thing or be shamed by having their pictures posted online? I feel uncomfortable speaking up in many situations with strangers, but this weekend I watched a dog owner walk away from a disturbingly large pile of ‘gold’ and was moved to say something which, not surprisingly, was met with only a blank look as the owner strode off. It occurred to me (too late) that I should have pulled out my cell phone and said something like “Please pick up your poop so I don’t have to take your picture” (or something like that that carried at least a whiff of consequence). Maybe it would have made a difference.

  • Andrew Porter

    I’m pretty sure that photos of people caught in the act of committing a crime are one thing, but how do you take a photo of someone who is not doing something? Any photo of a dog depositing excrement on a street can’t show whether or not the owner later did or did not pick it up.

    Also, any photos of owners would likely violate the law. Go Google “libel” and, if you’re mentioning names, Google “slander”. Homer doesn’t need any lawsuits, thank you very much.

  • David on Middagh

    Mr. Porter, if photographs won’t do, perhaps short vids (including the walk-away) would be acceptable? Truth defends against libel.

  • Jazz

    I’d think Homer just doesn’t want to be a jackass like many of the commenters here.

  • David G.

    If only people would get this upset about that awful last episode of LOST.

  • George Earl

    I guess this matter is getting we Americans (at least we Brooklyn Heights folks) to become a bit more concerned about how “dis’ nation of ours is goin’ down hill.” If only a larger percentage of we citizens and taxpayers would care that much about Washington goings-on.

  • nabeguy

    Too bad Divine is no longer around to handle this problem. As both a dog owner, and a home owner, I do happen to find it infuriating that some people just blatently violate the law. And please don’t tell me that you didn’t know there was such a law on the books…do you think your fellow dog-walkers are simply doing it as a courtesy? And whle peeing is not illegal, it would also be nice if you’d not let your dog water my flower bed with uric acid. It doesn;t do much for my daffodils.

  • dash

    Ultimately, there is no excuse for the behavior. But if you just can’t muster the energy, responsibility and common courtesy to keep your dog pooping off the sidewalk and pick up after, then PLEASE just do it on the sidewalk in front of your own home. That would work for me.

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