The newspaper is delivered in a blue bag to our house every day around 6:30 A.M. The first day I went out to get the news, I noticed my neighbor taking the blue bag off of the paper and stuffing it into her pocket. I figured she was going to recycle it and thought nothing of it. Well, the next day as I was walking Ellie girl, another neighbor stopped me and asked if I had my blue bag. I told her that I had put it in the recycling bin and she replied,"Oh, no, we use them around here for our dog poo. People get very upset if your dog poops in their yard, so we use our newspaper bags to pick it up." And she showed me how to pick up the poop, by turning the bag inside out. ( like I wouldn't have known that )
Now I TOTALLY get it that people don't want dog poop in their perfectly manicured carpet of a lawn. Really, I do. Especially around here where there is not one blade of grass out of place. Our neighbor's dog in Alabama was allowed to roam free, and he took a liking to our azalea bed, and when I weeded, it was disgusting, so I understand. But here's the rub: Ellie's poop is rarely "pickupable". She is a golden retriever with a sensitive stomach, and this is a new place, and when she gets nervous, her stomach is the first to go. So, I'm finding myself RUNNING to the nearest common area (which by the way is still off limits to poop), saying over and over, "Come on, girl, you can make it, Ellie." And we run and run and she looks over her shoulder at me like I am crazy. I mean, we have just moved from the WOODS where a dog can find all KINDS of poop to sniff, and explore, and add to the variety with no bags attached. I know this has to be some kind of torture for her, but imagine the kind of walk I am having---it is so stressful. Long gone are the strolls enjoying nature. And for added stress, I feel like everybody is watching us to see if we are following the "rules", and if Ellie makes a mistake, it will reflect on me. You see, I'm a rule follower, and sometimes it comes back to bite me. And I think this is one of those times. I should just throw up my hands, and do the best I can, but I just know the neighbors are lurking near their windows ready to burst out of the door to chastise us if Ellie finds their yard the most attractive for her business. So, I have resorted to practically dragging her to a semi-hidden spot, or a common area with trees and bushes to hide us. And THEN, I am actually taking the blue bag out of my pocket and pretending to pick it up, because that's how paranoid I am. And if I CAN manage to scoop the poop, who wants to continue on a walk with a big lump of smelly poop in the bottom of a bag swinging from your hand as you hit your stride? Should I stuff it in my pocket? I don't think so. And guess, what? I have done some lurking myself, and I am telling you that a WHOLE LOT OF PEOPLE are walking their dogs with a blue bag full of, well, you know--I'd like to say what I'm thinking but I'm trying to keep this blog clean. It's just not a relaxing or therapeutic way to start my day. I guess you can take the dog out of the country but .....you know the rest. And I guess that goes for me too.
2 comments:
When my son and his (then) wife visited with their gigantic dog, they brought "blue bags" with them because that is the customary procedure where they live in Ohio. Once the bag was filled, they'd drop it in an inconspicuous place, enjoy their walk, then pick up the trash on their way back. Often there was an accommodating neighbor who had a trash container a convenient distance from the road so "deposits" could be made. My thought was, "Gross! Is having a dog really worth that?"
Oh What an adjustment we have we can go to the beach and the sub we are in is also no blade out of place. Buster was used to going up top the sand dunes and doing his thing, but here oh no. He once did a poop(we were new to the sub) and Paul didn't pick it up. Well a couple of hours later, the door bell rang and there on the doorstep was Buster's poop with a note saying we had left something in their yard.
What a change from the country and the open air. But u get kind of used to it.
Glad to hear life is normal
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