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Salted Sidewalks Cause Poop Problems For Neighbors


by Ned Berke on Dec 22nd, 2009

1900aveW

A reader wrote in describing a new twist to an old problem: dog poop on the sidewalks is being detoured to her front steps.

The dog-friendly building on Avenue W and East 19th Street has long been a problem with inconsiderate dog owners, she says, but the recent snowstorm has made problems worse. She says the chemically treated salt put down by a nearby apartment building are causing “caring” dog owners to carry their pups to safety across the street. When pooches finish their business, the owners leave their crap – literally – in front of neighbor’s houses.

Our reader has taken the problem into her own hands. She’s posted signs at electrical boxes with descriptions of the guilty’s dogs, hoping to shame them into courtesy. So far, she says, there has been little relief. She says the dog owners should sue for proper disposal areas outside of the apartment, arguing that if pet owners are so concerned about their pups’ paws, they can seek compensation for vet bills for paw damage from the salt and chemicals in a dog friendly building.

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  • alknowles
    Leave it to the elderly to teach us what to do to these mindless people. 68-yr old man rubs it into the head of this woman who decided not to have a bag. OK, he went too far since she suggested that she would get a bag to pick it up.
  • sluggo
    Salt on a dog's paws is awful and painful! I hate this time of year because of it. The solution is called "Mushers Secret", it's a wax you get at the pet store, that you rub onto the dogs paws before you walk them. It repels the salt.

    I have two dogs and always pick up after them. SO TIRED of people who don't, it gives all dog owners a bad rep. PICK IT UP or don't own a dog!!!
  • What I do see a lot of are "Dog Lost" posters. Considering the number of little dogs being walked, carried and carted in the neighborhood it's not surprising. It's also not surprising that some owners are careless about picking up after their animals. There was a big brouhaha about it 20 years ago and then the Scooper law took effect. Since then the enforcement and attention to the problem has gone downhill. One does notice the kind of people who have these dogs.
    I can never understand the sight of a large burly man walking down the sidewalk with this tiny little Pomeranian pooch that yips loud enough to wake the dead. It's pathetic. I guess you can't expect some 6.5 foot tall behemoth to bend down and pick up after it. You especially can't believe it's going to happen when the cacophonous canine goes running leashless down the street. That's why the signs go up. I feel more sorry for the dogs that are lost and perhaps killed by one of the many louts that fill our streets with their ludicrous gas guzzling SUVs. Those PEOPLE don't even give humans the right of way.
  • Frank
    I complained about this problem a few years ago. So what did they do? They put up signs about picking up after your dog and the fine for such an offense. The only difference it made is that now there is dogshit with a sign above it. Those signs are as good as the signs that warn you about blowing your horn. Dog shit and garbage strewn all over the bay is the result of the transient population of the bay. No one stays long enough to consider it their neighborhood anymore.
  • clare
    I am grateful for this article.
    I thought I was the only person tired of other peoples shit.
    There are dog parks with less mess than Sheepshead Bay.
    Apartments and condos that allow pets should, by law, be responsible for the proper disposal of such pets "SHIT".
    A person can not have an open lawn, some folks are so ingenious they find little nooks and crannies to stuff the bags.
    I was hit with the "I don't have anymore bags" routine. Guess what, I just happened to have one in my pocket.
    OOh, OOh, can ya make up a list of excuses? LOL.
    Again, T.Y.
  • daveinbedstuy
    I bet it wouldn't look so nice smeared on their front door!!!!
  • Steffi
    As a responsible dog owner with two dogs that I walk regularly, I REALLY hate people who don't pick up. They give people like me a bad name. I have stepped in neighborhood dog poop several times and it SUCKS. And picking up in a bag or paper towel and then throwing it under a car or in the sewer does not count as picking up!!!! I will admit that is sucks carrying a bag of poop around with me until I get back to my building to put it in the garbage. I think that is why so many people do not pick up - because in my area there are no public garbage pails and they do not want to carry it.
    I tried to help this problem out by going to the 311 website (http://www.nyc.gov/html/dsny/html/contact/reque...) to request a garbage pail to be put on one of the nearby corners but this has yet to happen.

    Really though, I don't see what the big deal is to pick up. I purchase 100count boxes of doggie poop bags for 99cents. They are in every jacket pocket I own and take up minimal space. Part of having a dog means cleaning up after them too.
  • santa
    dog shit is good. eat it before it gets cold.
  • I don't see how 311 will help, the city can't even remove the fallen tree branch around the corner, what is 311 gonna do about dogshit and the possibility of unlicences pets? It's not like the city is gonna send an ASPCA car to canvass everyone for illegal dogs. Without recorded evidence of the crime or nuissance being comitted the city doesn't know who to fine or ticket and we know they won't expend the resources to find out.
  • alknowles
    Just report them to the city via 311 about the poop or if they didn't get a license for their dog. City loves getting money so they should follow up.
    Dog license info(for those who need it):
    http://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/html/vet/vet-doglic...
  • Unfortunately, "quality of life" is a lost concept to many officers in the 61st. They fail to understand how these things affect the community. Dealing with complaints like this is beneath them.

    Maybe the Department of Health might be more interested.
  • The difference between the city and sheepshead is police patrol and enforcement. The cops are to busy giving people in cars tickets to give a shit about quality of life offenses like dog shit.

    Listen people if you wanna solve the problem take it upon yourselves. Catch the people leaving shit on the street on camera, it's easy enough. Label them with dates and times, stitch them together and march down to the 61 or Nelsons office and demand so ething be done..
  • law
    i hate the SB dog owners. i jog along the bay and i always hate the smell or jog around the dog shit they leave behind. or one time i saw this guy picked up the dog shit and just threw it into the bay! the garbage can was maybe 10 feet from him!
  • dogpoop
    dog poop on sidewalk has been a problem in our area for the longest time.
    all i can say is that in manhattan there more dog owners, but
    we have a bigger problem. it boils down that dog owners in SB are idiots. dog owners should be shot and the dogs be eaten.
  • Ray Johnson
    I really do feel for these poor pooches. They are totally dependent on their owners and have no control over the environment in which they live. As for this blue, chemically treated salt: it's just another one of the supposed improvements that's covering our landscape with a rainbow of artificial color.
  • alknowles
    There's no excuse that you forget to bring a bag. You bring out the leash, so put some bags nearby so you don't forget.

    Here's a tip for those dog owners who are concerned about salt. Take a wet towel or just dip your dog's paws in warm water after you bring them in from their walk. Either that, or just leave the dog home so that only you get to experience this dog poop.

    It is sad that we have to remind our fellow dog-walkers to be considerate.
  • a good neighbor
    if you don't pick up after your dog, don't have one.

    i personally caught one lady walked away after her dog finished his/her business right in front of my house. i asked her to pick it up and she said she would come back to pick it up later. i insisted and fortunately she managed to find a plastic bag nearby and picked up the poop.

    another time this lady also walked away after her dog finished the business. i screamed from my window and her excuse was "i don't know why but she's been pooping all day". again she realized she was wrong and called her friend/family to bring her plastic bag to pick up.

    i don't know if i would say the same if the dog is about my size though.
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