The neighbors on either side of my house are pretty good about the dog bathroom deposits. About once every week or so, they will wander throughout my yard armed with their shovel and plastic grocery bags. They will remove a large bag or two (sometimes more) of poop and dispose of it in a way I don’t care to think about. Now that the weather has warmed up, my windows and the door leading out to the yard are always open. I frequently sit out on the deck to enjoy my morning coffee. In an effort to thwart the neighborhood dogs behavior, I’ve taken up the habit of yelling at them or shooting my nerf gun at them as they begin to squat. One of the dogs, a big mangy looking white haired dog named Max, rather enjoyed the game of nerf. He didn’t run from the nerf pellets but caught them in his mouth and brought them back to me. REPEATEDLY. He thinks this is a fun game. Believe me, it’s not! (That plan backfired on me) The other morning, as he was getting ready negotiate the rescue of the little brown kids I yelled out, “MAX! Stop! Go AWAY!”. He ignored me, left a huge pile of steamy brown goo and smugly walked out of the yard. His owner must have heard me yell because she came running over and apologized and removed the steamy smelly mess from my yard. I thanked her and she explained the woman who lived in our house before we moved in (who did not have a dog herself) didn’t mind the dogs using her lawn since she never mowed it and never went out there. The dogs have been used to claiming this as their own communal bathroom for years and years and they were having a difficult time getting used to the changes. (Therapy, anyone?) I jokingly said that we don’t have a dog because we don’t want to have to deal with the poop in the yard. However, that plan also seems to be backfiring of me.
Since then, the neighborhood dog moms are getting better and better about watching their dogs when they let them out. I am BEYOND thankful! However, there is now the awkward situation of thanking them. I mean, what are you supposed to? What if I’m sitting on my deck, listening to the birds and the river, enjoying my morning coffee and the peacefulness and a big ol’ dog comes over and does his business in my yard. If the neighbor doesn’t stop him in time, they will come over with the bag and pick it up. If I’m sitting outside I’ll say “g’morning” or something neighborly. But if I’m in my office, with the window open and she can see me and I can see her, do I yell out and acknowledge the poop picking up action to thank her? Or do I ignore the whole uncomfortable situation? I certainly do not want to be known as the mean neighbor. I want to be the nice one, the neighbor who brings cookies over around the holidays and the neighbor who always stops to talk. I don’t have a dog myself, so I don’t know what the proper poop etiquette is. The whole situation is just weird and odd to me. Bathroom behaviors are supposed to be private, something done in secret. Now, obviously, that’s not the case with dogs. They have no sense of modesty and will drop a squat wherever they are when the desire hits. I feel weird saying thank you to the neighbors who are diligent about picking it up and are considerate about our desires of having a poop free yard (is that really too much to ask for? Really, even for summit county?) But, I also feel weird about ignoring it and not acknowledging their efforts of keeping the peace.
