Today was a lovely day. Not too hot. Not too cool. Just about perfect. The perfect day for a playdate at the park with the Crazy Mamas and their kiddos.
With a plan to meet at one of the biggest parks in town for a morning playdate I packed the sippy cups and a snack. I lathered the boys in SPF 50, plunked hats on their heads and off we went.
When I pulled into the park entrance I was hit in the face with an intoxicating and pungent odour. A scent I recognized well. The distictive scent of....Dog doo. Thinking that is was just a pile in the near vicinity of my minivan I unloaded the kids and proceeded with caution. However the smell got worse the farther into the park we ventured.
There were various piles of doo along the trail in to the climber. I'm pretty sure I dry heaved a few times. So I focused hard on keeping my 2.5 year old out of the landmines and hoped that the playground would be doody free (hahaha I'm hilarious).
The playground was NOT free of dog doo. There was a pile right up there in the sand that surrounds the swings. Gross!
Not only do these doo drops (man, I am punny) pose the possibility that one of us Mamas may end up scraping doo off the bottom of tiny shoes to save our minivan interior but they are also a health issue. Kids do weird stuff. They eat dirt. They lick their hands for no reason. They drop their sippy cups and snacks and pick them right back up and put them in their mouths. There is a very good chance that some doo particles may end up on the tongue of at least one child.
What is wrong with people? To allow your dog to just drop it anywhere is disgusting. I know dogs need to go just like you or me but should their owners not be helping to direct them to an area outside of the play equipment and then scooping it up as the bi-law requires?
Where are the town workers we pay to take care of the parks? There is no way that many piles of doo just merely got overlooked. It is impossible not to smell let alone see that there is an overwhelming abundance of doo in this particular park.
I am seriously considering writing a letter to the local newspaper and hoping for a reaction from either the dog owners to change there etiquette or from town workers to get busy scooping. I do not believe that I should be packing a shovel in my picnic basket to be able to enjoy the park. That's just CRAP.
Friday, June 12, 2009
A Visit To Dog Doo Park
Posted by slightlyinsanestacey at 11:27 PM
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6 comments:
I LOVE it!! You should totally send this to the paper!!
I don't think I can send this. I think I have to send a more serious actual letter
Check out http://sites.google.com/site/AdoptaDogPark for information on what the problem is and how you can contribute to the solution. Remember, if you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem.
Thanks for the link and it would be helpful if the park I'm writting about were actually a dog park which it is not. It is used as a picnic/camping/play area.
I would be more than happy to help clean up dog poop if I were there to let my dog poop too. What would a couple more piles be right? However, when I go there with my small children I'm not about to go messing in dog crap.
We take our doggie there to frolick and play (we do indeed pick up his poo). I have to agree with you, it is disgusting. I'm not sure why people can't just bend down and pick up their dog's poo. It's all part of owning a dog, people! I think that people really need to think about all the responsibilities of taking care of a dog before they get one!
Leaving your doggie doo for someone to step in is a don't!
Letter I sent to the editor of our local paper that they did not publish:
Dear Editor,
Last Friday my children and I along with a group of friends decided to take advantage of the nice weather and headed to Crother's Park for a playdate. As soon as we pulled into the Forhan Street entrance we were greeted by the overwhelming stench of dog feces. It turned out that it was much worse than just a smell. There were dog feces all over the park including in the sand that surrounds the playground equipment.
Not only does such a large amount of poop turn the stomach but it also poses a health risk. Dog feces are one of the most common carriers of diseases that include hookworm, tapeworm, roundworms, and more. Kids eat dirt. They drop their cups and snacks and put them back in their mouths. This is more disgusting when there is so much unavoidable dog feces in the area the kids play in.
I don't think I would be asking too much for the dog owners that use Crother's Park to clean up after their dogs or for the town to do their part by cleaning up the existing mess so the park would be in a condition for children to play there. I don't think we as parents should be expected to pack a pooper scooper in our picnic baskets for a day at the park.
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