To the Editor:
I have recently grown increasingly disgusted with the dog feces found on grass or sidewalks in Verona not being picked up, as well as bags containing dog feces found thrown on the ground, or even in other people’s empty trash cans after trash pick-up.
These are photos of someone even throwing bags on someone’s private property – on Forest Ave – one block from Forest Ave school. I imagine this person is doing this in the dark of the night as this is a very visible spot and one would surely be seen and hopefully be mortified. The other day, there were numerous dog feces left on the hill in front of Forest Ave. school, where children are picked up and also play after-school. The kids all stepped in it and dragged it around. As a dog owner who walks their dog daily, I have seen many other instances of this type of behavior on side streets, busy streets and in parks.
I feel that we need to remind the local community that as a dog owner or hired dog walker, you have a responsibility to pick up after your dog. If you cannot do this, you should not be walking your dog.
If you DO pick up after your dog, you must dispose of it in a public trash can or carry it back to your home and dispose of it there. You cannot dispose of it in neighbors trash cans (which are private) or on their property! (Common sense applies to leaving it or throwing bags on someone’s property). If you ran out of bags or forgot them on your walk (as has happened to me) the responsible thing to do is to go back with a bag afterwards to pick it up. Perhaps owners should also check with their hired dog walkers as well as their kids to make sure they follow common sense protocol as well.
Additionally, the winter season and snowy or rainy weather does NOT GIVE YOU A PASS to not pick it up. It will not MELT with the snow and it will not WASH AWAY with the rain! It only becomes a much bigger mess.
Leaving dog feces not picked up leads to messes and spreads diseases. It is absolutely unacceptable and people should be embarrassed. Residents of Verona pay a lot to live here and expect fellow neighbors and their hired help to be a decent citizen and respect private property, school property, and public sidewalks.
End Rant
Thank you
Meghan Cocchiaro
(dog owner, mother, and Verona resident of 4 years)
I found this article very interesting . I thought I was the only one in the Forest area who had an issue with this. I live one block from Forest also and have a neighbor that throws his little green bags either on the side of his front steps ( and lets them collect there) or on the sidewalk between our houses where I have to look at it everytime I go in and out of my home. Pretty pathetic that people can’t be responsible enough to care for their pet feces properly.