Dog Poop Vigilante Redux 2020

By on March 9, 2020 9:55 pm in Brooklyn Heights, Cadman Plaza Park, Environment, Health, Kids, Parents, Pets, Public Safety, Stupidity, War On Fun

[Warning: Do not read this while eating, or if you generally have a weak stomach.]

Long time readers may recall the dog poop vigilante of 2011 who took matters into her own hands and taped signs around two lumps of dog feces left on Hicks St. reading, “Pick up your sh*t or don’t have a dog” and “What kind of lazy person leaves dog sh*t?” Why was she driven to such extreme measures? Her one-year-old almost picked up a log with his bare hands.

This morning, while walking through Cadman park at about 9:00 a.m., I came upon a fresh, still-wet pool of dog diarrhea that showed a half-hearted, shameless, and narcissistic attempt at clean up. If you’ve ever been to Cadman park on a nice day, you’ve seen the masses of kids rolling around on the turf.

20200309_190924I mean, look at that. I couldn’t just leave that there for someone’s toddler to roll in it or grab at it. So, I marched to the field office behind the monument and spoke to a Parks worker. She was very nice and grateful for the heads up and said, “We’ll be clearing the litter soon anyway.” Not trusting how long that would take, I went back home, printed a sign, and covered up the biohazard. By that time, there were already four tiny tots toodling around on the turf.

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Asked for comment, the O.G. dog poop vigilante said, “It’s nice to see that someone has carried the torch to keep curious toddlers safe from disease in the Brooklyn Heights community.”

To the very selfish, very reckless offender: The EPA classifies dog poop as a toxic pollutant in the same category as chemical and oil spills. If your dog is sick and has diarrhea, I’m guessing it’s even more hazardous. Do you really need a lesson on zoonotic diseases given the recent news?

To all dog owners who use Cadman as a dog run before 9:00 a.m.: Please look out for each other. As one reader commented in the past, “If you see sh*t, say sh*t.”

 

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  • Brooklyn Noob

    Soo gross. And so sick of this bad behavior by owners. I am not one who condones vigilantes . . . but this gets my full support, along with public shaming via iphone surveillance and regular “bad owner” walks of shame to review their misdeeds. Of all the quality of life violations, this is by far the worst. And one which gets the least attention due to the “sensitivity” (and scale) of dog owners.

  • Joey

    Dogs shouldn’t be allowed in urban concrete areas. Picking up dog waste is disgusting. Putting dog waste in plastic bags is like preserving it for years to come and people walk around with loaded bags as if they were a designer handbag. Furthermore seeing your dog assume the position while walking down the sidewalk is equally disgusting. How would you like it if I was walking down the sidewalk and just decided to drop my drawers to drop one down? Nobody wants to see that.

  • Diesel

    “Not allowed” I doubt you would say that to my unmuzzled face. BOL. If anyone doesn’t belong it’s weak-minded wusses like you. Brooklyn material you are not. WOOF!

  • Diesel

    Yep, no excuses “humans” Ya want us around ya gotta clean up after us. WOOF!

  • http://www.yotamzohar.com StudioBrooklyn

    I very much dislike seeing turds on the sidewalk and especially on astroturf, but turds at least are organic matter that in relatively short order turn into the same dirt that we do.

    Much worse, environmentally at least, are cigarette butts and wads of gum.

  • CassieVonMontague

    cigs and gum usually don’t carry e. coli and salmonella.

  • Brooklyn Noob
  • Love Laner

    Disgusting. Love Lane used to have someone who bagged their dog’s poop and then would drop the bags on the street or sidewalk, inevitably leaving a few to be run over by trucks and scraped along the street. They thankfully seem to have left the neighborhood because there haven’t been any in awhile (approximately a year I would say). Good riddance.

  • Diesel

    The muzzle is off! Gerr…

  • Mary Kim

    Another pile this morning. Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to go vigilante on this one. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/f8f26e5fab51d943c31a53a971d9698df38ea5b038869407db2761fef824d52d.jpg

  • KBells40

    Given that dogs are not supposed to be on the turf field *at all* (the grace period for off-leash hours before 9am/after 9pm applies to the park in general with the turf field off-limits to dogs at all times – see link), it may be appropriate to involve the Cadman Park Conservancy and/or the Parks Department. As a dog owner, I’m in complete agreement that this particular matter needs to be addressed. http://cadmanpark.org/dog-use/

  • http://www.yotamzohar.com StudioBrooklyn

    The comparison I was trying to draw attention to is that 100% of cigarette butts are terrible for the environment, taking upwards of 10 years to decompose and being conspicuously unsightly for as long, and chewing gum is much harder to clean off your shoe than dog feces and therefore has a longer-lasting negative impact on your day if you step in it, while certainly less than 100% of dog feces contains e coli that ends up in our water supply.

    Trust me, I’m as much in favor of berating dog owners/walkers who fail to do the one important thing that’s asked of them (also stop docking their damn tails and patronizing puppy mills, you monsters!), I just wish we were as up in arms, if not more, about smokers and gum chewers who have absolutely no respect for the people around them.

    The article you linked to suggests, by the way, that the much bigger threat to the water supply is livestock agriculture. I doubt dog feces is in the same league in terms of warranted concern level.

  • http://www.yotamzohar.com StudioBrooklyn

    There’s a small, friendly cadre of dog owners who congregate somewhat regularly on the turf field in the wee hours. I think they could be approached, without being adversarial, and we’d see good results; as to their regular conduct, dogs defecating on the turf are infrequent, but as we can see, the regulations are in place for a good reason.

  • KBells40

    I agree. I’m sure I know a couple of the owners, tho my pup and I don’t frequent Cadman during off-leash time. I wasn’t suggesting involving these orgs as an escalation per se, but it seems with the grassy north side of Cadman, plus the grassy perimeter areas, plus Whitman Park right there, it seems there are several alternatives to the turf…perhaps a little encouragement/outreach is all that’s necessary.

  • AEB

    It’s just sh*t! Not, you know, spilled garbage, plastic, half-filled bottles of crap soda, like that. Not the happiest thing to encounter, but really–get a grip!

    It’s organic waste. Pick it up, stay clear of it, and/or allow time and weather to do their thing. The shame attached to animal waste–it’s depressing!

  • Mary Kim

    I walk by, over, and around many piles left all over Brooklyn Heights and don’t think much of it. Because, as you said, it’s just sh*t. This was a different problem that couldn’t be ignored. The turf is basically plastic, so feces will lay on top of it for a long time. That turf is where hundreds of kids play everyday. The kids wrestle and roll around on the turf. Because the feces was wet and flush to the turf, it wasn’t easy to spot. Cadman during the day is full of toddlers who can free on the turf, like the dogs before 9:00 a.m. They touch everything and then put their fingers in their eyes, nose, and mouth. They’re toddlers. They shouldn’t be exposed to a sick dog’s diarrhea on their play turf. Ever.

  • BKBud

    Dogs are in fact NOT permitted to be on the AstroTurf in Cadman at all! It doesn’t matter if it’s before 9 AM or at any time, it’s against the rules. I have seen people get tickets from the parks department and spoken to a Parks dept worker – the turf is a “ball field”, as such dogs are not permitted on it (see link below). The signage is not clear and I have called to tell the parks to have more visible signs (I’m at giving dog owners the benefit of the doubt, perhaps they aren’t aware of the rule). The rest of Cadman/War memorial is fine for dogs to be off leash after 9pm and before 9 am. It’s very unsanitary to have dogs relieving themselves and ripping up the turf where hundreds of children play.

    Dogs are permitted off leash on the perimeter of Cadman before 9 am and after 9pm. There is an official dog run – Hillside Dog Park – a few blocks west, created entirely for dogs.

    https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/cadman-plaza-park-and-brooklyn-war-memorial/facilities/dogareas

  • AEB

    Exception noted. Thanks.

  • http://www.yotamzohar.com StudioBrooklyn

    I’ve heard compelling arguments about the problematic relationship between dogs and urban areas.

    There’s a counter-argument in there about the benefits of having dogs around, both for humans and dogs. As a neighbor of dog-owners but a non-dog-owner myself I feel incredibly grateful to those around me for including pups in their families and by extension my circle of friends.

    There’s also the economic boon of having dogs around, from the fact that it enables wonderful people like Sammy (of Pets Emporium) to work in our neighborhood, to the dog walkers who earn or bolster their income—or are even a thing—and therefore have the ability to participate in the economy as well.

    Certainly, there are many dogs that need homes, and if it so happens that the people who are able and willing to give them one live in a place where they have to be more vigilant about cleaning up after them (as opposed to giving them a fenced yard to run around in), then why throw the baby out with the bath water?

  • Brooklyn Noob

    It is harmful. The EPA (the real one under Obama) concurs. Let’s not downplay the actual health impacts of this bad behavior. Real stuff from a Brooklynite. https://blog.epa.gov/2011/10/17/managing-pet-waste/

  • http://www.yotamzohar.com StudioBrooklyn

    Again, I didn’t say it wasn’t harmful. But I’m comparing it to stuff that happens more frequently on Brooklyn sidewalks and is more harmful, in general.

    I’m not saying dog owners shouldn’t pick up after their dogs. They absolutely should. But if we’re going to make a big deal about it, we should be pressuring smokers and gum chewers to clean up after themselves as well.

  • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7nPOzGeyaw Arch Stanton

    Wow, I take a few days off and come back to this “Dogs are disgusting” Well D’ck head It is you who are disgusting a worthless piece of subhuman garbage. Please do humanity a favor and die soon.

  • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7nPOzGeyaw Arch Stanton

    Probably best if you moved back to the burbs or wherever you you came from, clearly the city is not for you.

  • Joey

    You’re the one who sounds like a dick head. And I bet you really are one.