The Dog Days of Summer

I took my dog, Cocoa, out for her evening walk, like I do.

I walked by a man standing on his front porch saying goodbye to two women who I can only assume were his daughter and granddaughter. (They all look to be about the right ages, anyway.)

I passed them, gave a short but friendly smile, and continued walking, like I do.

Getting ready to cross High Street, I was not paying the slightest bit of attention to their conversation until I heard, or felt, rather, words cast in my direction.

At first, I only caught the last part of his sentence. “…just s*it on my lawn, didn’t it?”

Confused, it took me a second to realize he was talking about me. Just as I was thinking it, his “daughter” said, “What?” He repeated himself, loud and clear this time, just for me, “THAT DOG JUST S*IT ON MY LAWN, DIDN'T IT?”  

For the record, my dog, Cocoa, had done no such thing.

Last summer, I passed by a sign in the yard of another neighbor about two blocks away from where I live that read, You Can P*ss Here If I Can S*it On Yours. The sign was highlighting a yellow stain on his grass by the curb. The sign has since been taken down. 

We got Cocoa from the , and, like most dogs, she has to go for a walk twice a day. We do frequent the , but, unfortunately, we can’t make it there twice daily.

So, like every other dog owner I know, we pick up her poop and carry it back home with us. The pee? Well, I can’t do much about that, but I do make a conscious effort to avoid houses that have No Poop signs in their yard.

Again, I hear you, Alameda. I know this is a really touchy subject. I actually thought the No Poop sign was a great solution because, as a dog walker, I knew to avoid those houses.

I know all too well that lots of owners do not take responsibility for their pets' waste. So hear my plea, pet owners, pick up after your companions.

I want to think that abandoned doggie land mines are the main complaint and not that Alamedans hate dogs so much they are willing to throw down profanity left and right. Save that for people who really deserve it. Like your husband or kids! 

As hypocritical as it may sound, I can’t say I love it when dogs leave offerings in my yard or yellow circles on my lawn. But I also don't like it when cats use my flower bed as a litter box or when birds bomb my car. (I also don't like it when my kids leave their toys all over the yard;even Cocoa doesn't do that, but that's another story.)

I do, however, like seeing people walk their dogs around the neighborhood. I like it that my kids know the different cats that live on our block and I can't imagine not waking up to the chirping birds in the morning. It feels friendly, sociable and down right neighborly. I think it’s a good trade-off. What do you think?