Going to the Dogs

I've always been more attracted to dogs than cats.

That is, until I started living in urban areas where dogs, and more specifically, their feces, have taken over all the green space and too much of the sidewalk. You can't lie in a grassy park without lying in dog crap. Every sidewalk tree basin becomes a disgusting toilet bowl.

Oh sure, the responsible owners pick up after their dogs. But there's still a disgusting residue. There are so many dogs, that even if only one out of ten owners were irresponsible, it's still alot of crap everywhere.

I used to be shocked and annoyed at the amount of money spent on pets, when after all, our pets enjoy more luxuries than most of the world's humans. I currently rationalize that owning a pet is more environmentally sound than having children -- that is, a dog, cat, or even a horse, consumes fewer resources than the typical American child. So let them spend ridiculous amounts of money on their pets. Just figure out a way to prevent them from smearing feces across the public space. At least the irresponsible parent who throws a diaper out the car window leaves a neat plastic-wrapped bundle of crap.