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Thank you Ann Teak for adding your voice to the calls to dog owners to responsibly and respectfully dispose of their dogs’ poop! Unfortunately, this problem isn’t limited to Cole’s Woods, it’s happening on all area trails, and in the yards of anyone living along dog walkers’ paths. Dog owners are throwing or just dropping their bags full of poop all over Glens Falls and Queensbury, if they bother to bag it at all. Some are also just letting their dogs “go,” and walking away from it, leaving other walkers to step in it, and/or gardeners to encounter it while tending their yards. It’s disgusting. Dog owners, the law says that YOU are responsible for immediately removing all dog feces from any property other than your own. To those of you already doing this, thank you for respecting your neighbors and the law, it’s much appreciated. It is incredibly frustrating trying to find a solution to this problem. How do you inspire a sense of personal responsibility in other adults? The volume of poop evident out there shows that laws don’t matter.
After my first letter on the subject was printed, someone said to me that if I don’t mind cleaning up after my own dog, why should I have a problem cleaning up after theirs? I don’t think anyone enjoys this chore. Those doing it are just conscientious, responsible human beings who respect their community. One solution is to increase the dog license fee in order to pay for cleanup crews. This isn’t fair to the responsible owners or city crews though. Instead of treating your neighbors like servants who should handle all the things you don’t feel like doing yourselves, think of someone you respect, tell yourself you’re doing it for them, and remove the poop, please.
