Those Aren’t Tulips! …

About the only thing I have found I dislike about Montpelier is the amount of dog doo left lying about. There is less and less grass area were we can safely walk our dogs without having to worry about any of us treading in something. And these aren’t small dogs either. Sometimes I wonder if someone is secretly housing an elephant in town. From what I have heard it gets worse as winter goes on, and that come mud season the melting snow revels more than just crocuses.

It is not only gross, it is illegal. Below is the information from Section 8-210 [PDF] entitled “DEFECATION.”

(a) The person in control of any dog which defecates in a public park, walkway, sidewalk, street, public way, playground, cemetery, school grounds, state property or on private property shall remove such material immediately and dispose of it in a sanitary manner. This provision shall not apply to private property used without objection of the property owner or to off-trail, wooded areas of public parks.

A month ago we were yellled at by one business person because he was fed up with people’s dogs crapping on the property. At the time I was picking up after someone else’s dog, but any attempt I made to explain this to the person fell on deaf ears—and blind eyes since I was obviously picking up a mess and not abandoning one. But I understand his frustrations.

Since that event I have made an effort to have a baggie in view as I wander around mumbling “go potty” to my companions, simply because I hate the looks of those people who also are fed up with the messes left behind in Mont-poo-lier.