I heard from one of my newest District 2 constituents Dawn Papiernik the other day. We had crossed paths through business many years ago and I am happy to welcome her to my area.
Well Dawn is a dog owner and resides on Sir Walter Scott Avenue, a block of apartment buildings, where it seems folks are not picking up the waste of their canines.
"I just moved into an apartment building on Sir Walter Scott," says Dawn. " All along the street and along the path to Cavendish, there is dog poop everywhere on the grass. Some of it is clearly old as it’s white already and lest you think the mess is due to spring thaw and lazy winter dog walkers, let me assure you that some of it is fresh. It’s clearly being left there by various dog owners, because some of it is obviously from large dogs and some from quite small pups — you can tell.
"I have a dog and always, always, always pick up his poop. When I lived in a single-family home with a fenced-in yard — which was only used by my dog — even then I picked up his poop. It’s not just an issue of laziness, it’s an issue of bacteria. Whether my dog is stepping in it or whether I’m stepping in it, it’s vile. It’s vile and it’s everywhere. I can’t walk five feet without seeing a pile. It’s that bad.
"I noticed that there’s a box at the start of the path, a box that’s supposed to hold dog waste bags. I always have my own bags but I thought, 'Wow! That’s a great idea for other dog owners.' Sadly, though, the box is empty. But honestly, I can’t imagine that having bags available would solve the problem, the poops are everywhere, blocks and blocks of poop, far away from the empty box. It’s really a sad state of affairs when “responsible” dog owners don’t clean up after their dogs and I have to ask that something be done about it."
I turned to our Public Safety Director Jordy Reichson for a response. "It is illegal and we do ticket for this infraction," he told me. "But we need to catch the culprit."
Public Safety now has a blitz on dogs for the next month – for both the poop and canines caught off the leash,
As a cat lover and owner, I can only say how easy adorable felines are to take care of. Those of the indoor persuasion do their business in a litter box. You never have to walk them. They bathe themselves. What a pleasure! That being said, I love dogs too and wish to salute the many, many responsible dog owners like my neighbours Chaim and Annette who always pick up after their Farfalle.