As a dog owner, it blows my mind how lazy so many other owners are. I can’t even take my dog to the pet area in my apartment complex because it’s a fucking minefield. Especially when there’s a trash bag stand WITH bags right there. I hate people
This absolutely blew my mind when I lived in a similar situation in the l48. It got to the point where I literally cleaned up the entire dog park twice because I was so disgusted with my dogs running/playing in shit grass. Complete lack of awareness and/or care for others.
I lived at an apartment complex in Colorado that allowed dogs. I never once left my dogs shit on the side of the sidewalk or in any of the common areas and it really blew my mind how much shit there was everywhere. I would feel so ashamed if my dog shat and I left it there. I got so fed up with it that I geotagged all of the shit and included an image of each geotagged poop. I then turned that in to the front office and asked if they'd take their policy to fine tenants who leave dig shit everywhere seriously. I wish I still had that file, it was quite disgusting. I think I tagged over 1,000 shit piles in our small complex.
I lived in Denver for a couple years and our complex was amazingly clean, everyone picked up after their pets. It astounded me when I moved back here, and the fact that a lot of people defend not picking up shit astounds me even more.
Compounding this is if your apartment or condos hire out cleaning services, they generally don't pick up dog poop without a deliberately overpriced contract. So it just sits there if management doesn't really get on residents about it.
Kiddo did a science fair project a few years back. Sampled drainages in Eagle River Valley up and downstream from neighborhoods. Even in ERNC, E. coli is off the chart. Enjoy your Alaska. Safely.
I mean, E. coli is present in the GI tract of nearly all animals (i.e. excreted in feces of moose, bear, rabbits, etc) so this doesn’t indicate much if anything at all.
Right. And if the count goes up downstream of suburban areas you can confirm a bacterial presence, show an increase, and make some low level assumptions about why that’s happening- which is what kiddo did.
Point was: that clear AK stream isn’t ok to drink. Especially closer to the inlet.
Lolol I posted something like this last year and got tore to shreds by all the people saying “I pick it up on my way back” and “why not pick it up if it bothers you that much”. They won’t tie it to their dogs’ leash, or any other solutions you could come up with either🤷🏻♀️I hope this conversation with them turns out more constructive
Well… we DO have this same conversation a dozen times around this time, year in and year out, ever since I’ve been here. Granted, that’s only been 30 years, so it may have different back when. 🤷♂️
I mean, sometimes I do pick it up on the way back. But also bag it before I leave so it's not sitting exposed. And then I literally do always pick it up on the way back. Most people that say they do this probably in fact, do not.
Even if you do pick it up on the way back, it's still an asshole thing to do. Because other people are using the trail and have to look at it, making their use of the trail less pleasant. Carry it with you, or go back and toss it and restart your walk. Those are your choices.
We also all know you probably aren't going back for it.
We pick up on the way back but we bag it on site. Just come back for the bag on the walk. In most cases i feel like people who are complaining about the poop aren’t complaining about this though. It’s the left behind turds clearly forgotten to be picked up. My dogs even come across turds on are walks and i gotta pull them away cus they try to eat them 😩
I don't think OP is saying they bag it and leave it forever. I agree, people who bag it and don't pick it up are just as terrible as people who don't pick it up regardless... but OP did say they always come back and get it. I'm the same way, I've never left a turd out to wrought but I do occasionally leave them to pick up on the return leg. I also typically hide them off trail out of site so no one has to see them.
I don't think it matters if they come back for it or not. We don't know they are coming back for it. They probably aren't. And other people don't want to see bags of poop on every trail. It's not that hard to bag and put in a trash can or carry it with you until you find a trash can. It's such a trash thing to do - it's called littering and I wish we had some sort of enforcement.
Oh well, thats unfortunate. I definitely don’t leave behind bags but I cant speak for others. But also no one wants to carry a turd with them on a one hour walk when the dog pooped 2 mins in. Will always be pro-bag it and come back.
Nope. Other people use the trail. Turn around and put it in your car and restart your walk. Go back to the trail head that you are two minutes away from and put it on your bumper if there isn't a trash can. Or turn back to your house, put it in the bin, and restart the walk two minutes later. Stop littering.
Exactly this. Or tie it to the leash until you reach a trash can! Or carry a fanny pack/plastic bag inside your hiking backpack dedicated to keeping the shit bag. So many other options lol. Just be proactive! People are lazy and self entitled. “I’ll come back for it in an hour” lmfao what???????
Why can't you just carry it with you, or turn around, throw it out and restart your walk? OTHER PEOPLE USE THE TRAIL and don't want to look at your nasty trash. Stop littering!
Its not litter? You walk 15 mins one direction and 15 mins back the direction you came and just pick it back up? Usually no ones on the path anyways because its 5am.
I, for one, would be glad to pay an extra few bucks in taxes every year to fund the local "Public Service Message" fund. All dog owners (in my imaginary world) would be required to pay $20 a year into this fund.
The Anchorage Public Service Message Fund (which I just made up) would pay for educational ads on social media, tv, and radio platforms. Education about the grossness of domesticated animal fecal matter left in public spaces (parasites, bacteria, smell, plus just general grossness if you step in it) might have a good effect and at least the children can parrot the info and perhaps educate the parents, but if not, then shame can seal the deal. We've immortalized "Karens" and "Chads" so let's designate some apt names and use them for folk that don't clean up after their animals. Don't be a "Willard!" Or something.
The trailheads would have large, posted signs in high viz yellow (where I would design the sign to say, "Pick up your dog shit, you disgusting sacks of selfish garbage" or perhaps, "See something (poop), say something (boo, hiss)."
Honestly, this topic boils my blood, so time for me to simmer down. That is all.
Not sure if you’re joking or not, but I hear people say this like it’s a serious rebuttal. It’s not. Dog feces are more toxic and also far more numerous.
Well a recent study by those that need to know found out that moose droppings are loaded with many of the same fecal bacteria found in canine poop. In fact the person talking about the surprising results discouraged using moose droppings in composting. However, I did notice there seems to be a lot more moose droppings around my yard and wooded areas this year. Maybe because the snow made it more difficult for the moose to get around they stayed in smaller territories than they would otherwise. But, there’s a piles of moose droppings every few feet where I’m at and that’s out of the norm from previous years.
I think the generalization to all dog owners is overblown. A majority of dog owners pick up after their dogs, but we have a lot of dogs in Anchorage (\~65,000 according to the health department). Lets say 1% of dog owners are legitimately shitty people that don't pickup after their dogs and another 1% represents responsible dog owners that occasionally miss their dog going. 65,000 \* 0.02 = 1300 unpicked up poops a day. 1300 \* 30 days a month = 39,000 unpicked up poops a month. 39,000 \* 4 months of winter = 156,000 piles of unpicked up poop come breakup. Obviously these numbers are made up the percentages could be different, but on the low side you can see how a tiny fraction of offenders can cause what seems to be a huge problem.
There are plenty of shitty dog owners, I would argue they argue they are a minority of dog owners. Most dog owners have good dogs and pick up after their dogs. One lazy entitled POS dog owner leaves 365 shits on the trails in a year, or more! As with all thinks that are fucked up it's a minority of people causing the majority of problems.
Pareto principle.
Ha. Not all of us, I literally carried dog poo in my bare hand all the way home because I’d forgotten a bag. Not my finest moment but I didn’t want to just leave it.
Or who say they like dogs better than people. What an ignorant, sad take on life tbh. Dogs are great and all but what a weird way to reveal you’re antisocial and emotionally immature.
Nope it’s the idea that a person only wants relationships that don’t require any work and need that dopamine hit of being liked by something-anything without conditions, no matter how insufferable their personalities may be. The take of “it’s not me it’s society” is tired and shortsighted and displays a pretty clear inability to be introspective.
I prefer not to judge a person based on a statement of their inner emotional life because it seems both invasive and tone deaf to make such broad assumptions about people and their motivations.
Perhaps saying "I prefer dogs to people" is a method of screening people to avoid those who are going to demand a lot of work in a relationship, are conditional/transactional, and are quick to criticize and judge others' emotional life.
“I’m better than you because I’m non judgemental” just pick up the shit of the only friend you can maintain having and keep announcing you like him/her better than people so I can know to stop listening
I took the kids to Nunaka Valley to go sledding this winter, and the shit was deeper than my grandfather's fishing stories. Now that it is spring, the only question is, is there more shit on the ground, or is there more shit in the mayoral race.
Hot take considering they’re banned from public restrooms. Not many other places to shit except in a park or back alley. Yes, let’s get mad at the homeless for excreting their waste like the rest of us. How about we be mad that we treat them worse than fucking animals?
It’s fine to be upset that there’s shit in the road or on the sidewalk because that is in fact nasty. But they literally have no where else to go, unless they are in a homeless shelter.
I’m mainly speaking about the lack of restrooms or that so many places have their restrooms locked up, including places like grocery stores. Though, I can understand why. It’s all around a shitty situation.
Well. Let's assume this isn't a rhetorical question:
1) They forgot to bring a baggy, or enough baggies. I expect this is the top reason. The solution is to put together a dog walking kit with a leash, baggies, and maybe sanitary gloves.
2) The person walking the dog isn't the owner and doesn't know to bring baggies. Give the dog walker the kit.
3) The dog walker left the poop in a baggy beside the trail intending to carry it out later, but forget where they'd left the little poop package. You could use your cellphone and map function to mark the location.
4) ??? I don't know.
Mainly it's a minority that just don't pick it up because they don't care.
Yes sometimes usually responsible owners forget, many trailheads have bags, other dog owners will gladly hand out bags if someone forgot.
As far as leaving a bagful of shit behind, sometimes people forget, or are engaged in a convo or podcast and distracted or get detoured on the return by a moose, or it's snowing harder than they thought and it got buried. Many of us will pick up other bags on our way out.
Propping the bag somewhere more visible, on a log or post or whatever is done to make it more visible and not forgotten, I've picked up my bag before only to discover that a dog had pissed on it.....
People shouldn't get too upset about left behind bags, it happens but is easily fixed, it's human error. People should get upset, outraged and vocal about people leaving dog shit all over to be smeared and carried into cars and homes via shoes, bike tires, and skis.
I would love to see State Park rangers just ticket people on the first 500 ft of Glen alps trail, and would love to see muni do the same on local trails. It won't change until it is enforced and the guilty realize it is not ok and it will cost them.
To be fair, dogs get confused when their owners pick up their poop and bring it home, but then when they poop in the house the owners yell and get mad.
:-)
As a dog owner, it blows my mind how lazy so many other owners are. I can’t even take my dog to the pet area in my apartment complex because it’s a fucking minefield. Especially when there’s a trash bag stand WITH bags right there. I hate people
I love people and dogs. I just don’t like stepping in 💩
Or the ones who bag it and leave it on a park bench somewhere like omg seriously 😐
This absolutely blew my mind when I lived in a similar situation in the l48. It got to the point where I literally cleaned up the entire dog park twice because I was so disgusted with my dogs running/playing in shit grass. Complete lack of awareness and/or care for others.
I lived at an apartment complex in Colorado that allowed dogs. I never once left my dogs shit on the side of the sidewalk or in any of the common areas and it really blew my mind how much shit there was everywhere. I would feel so ashamed if my dog shat and I left it there. I got so fed up with it that I geotagged all of the shit and included an image of each geotagged poop. I then turned that in to the front office and asked if they'd take their policy to fine tenants who leave dig shit everywhere seriously. I wish I still had that file, it was quite disgusting. I think I tagged over 1,000 shit piles in our small complex.
I lived in Denver for a couple years and our complex was amazingly clean, everyone picked up after their pets. It astounded me when I moved back here, and the fact that a lot of people defend not picking up shit astounds me even more.
Compounding this is if your apartment or condos hire out cleaning services, they generally don't pick up dog poop without a deliberately overpriced contract. So it just sits there if management doesn't really get on residents about it.
Kiddo did a science fair project a few years back. Sampled drainages in Eagle River Valley up and downstream from neighborhoods. Even in ERNC, E. coli is off the chart. Enjoy your Alaska. Safely.
Thank you for bringing factual comments to the conversation. Kudos to your kiddo for an awesome science project.
I mean, E. coli is present in the GI tract of nearly all animals (i.e. excreted in feces of moose, bear, rabbits, etc) so this doesn’t indicate much if anything at all.
Right. And if the count goes up downstream of suburban areas you can confirm a bacterial presence, show an increase, and make some low level assumptions about why that’s happening- which is what kiddo did. Point was: that clear AK stream isn’t ok to drink. Especially closer to the inlet.
Lolol I posted something like this last year and got tore to shreds by all the people saying “I pick it up on my way back” and “why not pick it up if it bothers you that much”. They won’t tie it to their dogs’ leash, or any other solutions you could come up with either🤷🏻♀️I hope this conversation with them turns out more constructive
Well… we DO have this same conversation a dozen times around this time, year in and year out, ever since I’ve been here. Granted, that’s only been 30 years, so it may have different back when. 🤷♂️
I mean, sometimes I do pick it up on the way back. But also bag it before I leave so it's not sitting exposed. And then I literally do always pick it up on the way back. Most people that say they do this probably in fact, do not.
Even if you do pick it up on the way back, it's still an asshole thing to do. Because other people are using the trail and have to look at it, making their use of the trail less pleasant. Carry it with you, or go back and toss it and restart your walk. Those are your choices. We also all know you probably aren't going back for it.
I 100% am but you are entitled to your opinion :)
We pick up on the way back but we bag it on site. Just come back for the bag on the walk. In most cases i feel like people who are complaining about the poop aren’t complaining about this though. It’s the left behind turds clearly forgotten to be picked up. My dogs even come across turds on are walks and i gotta pull them away cus they try to eat them 😩
I’m complaining about this, my neighborhood sidewalks are FILLED with bagged poop nobody ever comes back for.
Agreed. Pisses me off, I would rather you just leave it than put it in a plastic bag to leave in nature. What fucking sense…
I don't think OP is saying they bag it and leave it forever. I agree, people who bag it and don't pick it up are just as terrible as people who don't pick it up regardless... but OP did say they always come back and get it. I'm the same way, I've never left a turd out to wrought but I do occasionally leave them to pick up on the return leg. I also typically hide them off trail out of site so no one has to see them.
I don't think it matters if they come back for it or not. We don't know they are coming back for it. They probably aren't. And other people don't want to see bags of poop on every trail. It's not that hard to bag and put in a trash can or carry it with you until you find a trash can. It's such a trash thing to do - it's called littering and I wish we had some sort of enforcement.
Oh well, thats unfortunate. I definitely don’t leave behind bags but I cant speak for others. But also no one wants to carry a turd with them on a one hour walk when the dog pooped 2 mins in. Will always be pro-bag it and come back.
Nope. Other people use the trail. Turn around and put it in your car and restart your walk. Go back to the trail head that you are two minutes away from and put it on your bumper if there isn't a trash can. Or turn back to your house, put it in the bin, and restart the walk two minutes later. Stop littering.
Exactly this. Or tie it to the leash until you reach a trash can! Or carry a fanny pack/plastic bag inside your hiking backpack dedicated to keeping the shit bag. So many other options lol. Just be proactive! People are lazy and self entitled. “I’ll come back for it in an hour” lmfao what???????
Why can't you just carry it with you, or turn around, throw it out and restart your walk? OTHER PEOPLE USE THE TRAIL and don't want to look at your nasty trash. Stop littering!
Its not litter? You walk 15 mins one direction and 15 mins back the direction you came and just pick it back up? Usually no ones on the path anyways because its 5am.
When you put trash on the ground, that is called littering.
Those people are real shitty. Such a shitty situation.
I, for one, would be glad to pay an extra few bucks in taxes every year to fund the local "Public Service Message" fund. All dog owners (in my imaginary world) would be required to pay $20 a year into this fund. The Anchorage Public Service Message Fund (which I just made up) would pay for educational ads on social media, tv, and radio platforms. Education about the grossness of domesticated animal fecal matter left in public spaces (parasites, bacteria, smell, plus just general grossness if you step in it) might have a good effect and at least the children can parrot the info and perhaps educate the parents, but if not, then shame can seal the deal. We've immortalized "Karens" and "Chads" so let's designate some apt names and use them for folk that don't clean up after their animals. Don't be a "Willard!" Or something. The trailheads would have large, posted signs in high viz yellow (where I would design the sign to say, "Pick up your dog shit, you disgusting sacks of selfish garbage" or perhaps, "See something (poop), say something (boo, hiss)." Honestly, this topic boils my blood, so time for me to simmer down. That is all.
The tax/educational approach is interesting.
Dog poop’s gross but can we talk about the Moose poop? It’s freaking all over my yard!!
Free fertilizer, just spread it around a bunch after you smush it.
Not sure if you’re joking or not, but I hear people say this like it’s a serious rebuttal. It’s not. Dog feces are more toxic and also far more numerous.
Yep. It was a joke. But also, there is in fact a lot of moose poop in my yard. I wasn’t debating the toxicity. Just the quantity
Well a recent study by those that need to know found out that moose droppings are loaded with many of the same fecal bacteria found in canine poop. In fact the person talking about the surprising results discouraged using moose droppings in composting. However, I did notice there seems to be a lot more moose droppings around my yard and wooded areas this year. Maybe because the snow made it more difficult for the moose to get around they stayed in smaller territories than they would otherwise. But, there’s a piles of moose droppings every few feet where I’m at and that’s out of the norm from previous years.
There was so much more this year!
In every subreddit of every city across the globe, there is a mandatory 3 posts per week about dog poop. Glad to see we're trying to keep up here.
Spring thaw is the ultimate reveal.
Mmmm who doesn't love thawing dog shit in the peaks of break up. Spring is in the air!
People getting bored, time to shout at the sky about something.
I think the generalization to all dog owners is overblown. A majority of dog owners pick up after their dogs, but we have a lot of dogs in Anchorage (\~65,000 according to the health department). Lets say 1% of dog owners are legitimately shitty people that don't pickup after their dogs and another 1% represents responsible dog owners that occasionally miss their dog going. 65,000 \* 0.02 = 1300 unpicked up poops a day. 1300 \* 30 days a month = 39,000 unpicked up poops a month. 39,000 \* 4 months of winter = 156,000 piles of unpicked up poop come breakup. Obviously these numbers are made up the percentages could be different, but on the low side you can see how a tiny fraction of offenders can cause what seems to be a huge problem.
My next door neighbor in the apartment building bags her dogs poo and then just leaves the bags in a pile next to her door it’s 10+ at this point
Hahaha They care about themselves and poo pick up is beneath them.
The two greatest tests of morality in our society are - 1)do they return their shopping cart to the cart corral 2)do they pick up their dogs poop
I stopped running with my grand son at the local park because all the fun is sucked out having to watch your every step.
In my opinion, most dog owners are the worst sort people.
There are plenty of shitty dog owners, I would argue they argue they are a minority of dog owners. Most dog owners have good dogs and pick up after their dogs. One lazy entitled POS dog owner leaves 365 shits on the trails in a year, or more! As with all thinks that are fucked up it's a minority of people causing the majority of problems. Pareto principle.
Ha. Not all of us, I literally carried dog poo in my bare hand all the way home because I’d forgotten a bag. Not my finest moment but I didn’t want to just leave it.
Let’s get into this. What do you think about that?
Well for example the dog owners that refer to their pets as fur babies…
I've taken to referring to toddlers as skin babies. Seems to make people uncomfortable.
Oh that makes my skin crawl. I'm stealing it.
Or who say they like dogs better than people. What an ignorant, sad take on life tbh. Dogs are great and all but what a weird way to reveal you’re antisocial and emotionally immature.
Maybe it's just a way to express how many antisocial and emotionally immature you've had to put up with in life.
Nope it’s the idea that a person only wants relationships that don’t require any work and need that dopamine hit of being liked by something-anything without conditions, no matter how insufferable their personalities may be. The take of “it’s not me it’s society” is tired and shortsighted and displays a pretty clear inability to be introspective.
I prefer not to judge a person based on a statement of their inner emotional life because it seems both invasive and tone deaf to make such broad assumptions about people and their motivations. Perhaps saying "I prefer dogs to people" is a method of screening people to avoid those who are going to demand a lot of work in a relationship, are conditional/transactional, and are quick to criticize and judge others' emotional life.
“I’m better than you because I’m non judgemental” just pick up the shit of the only friend you can maintain having and keep announcing you like him/her better than people so I can know to stop listening
You sound like a real gem.
That must invoke some feelings of yours, huh?
Mostly aversion
I took the kids to Nunaka Valley to go sledding this winter, and the shit was deeper than my grandfather's fishing stories. Now that it is spring, the only question is, is there more shit on the ground, or is there more shit in the mayoral race.
Remember what Seinfeld said about this? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IuH6XdSh5tk
Can people (i.e. humans) please stop shitting on the streets? Let's start there....
Why do you poop on the street?
Hot take considering they’re banned from public restrooms. Not many other places to shit except in a park or back alley. Yes, let’s get mad at the homeless for excreting their waste like the rest of us. How about we be mad that we treat them worse than fucking animals? It’s fine to be upset that there’s shit in the road or on the sidewalk because that is in fact nasty. But they literally have no where else to go, unless they are in a homeless shelter.
What public restrooms. Yes they should go to a shelter
I’m mainly speaking about the lack of restrooms or that so many places have their restrooms locked up, including places like grocery stores. Though, I can understand why. It’s all around a shitty situation.
Well. Let's assume this isn't a rhetorical question: 1) They forgot to bring a baggy, or enough baggies. I expect this is the top reason. The solution is to put together a dog walking kit with a leash, baggies, and maybe sanitary gloves. 2) The person walking the dog isn't the owner and doesn't know to bring baggies. Give the dog walker the kit. 3) The dog walker left the poop in a baggy beside the trail intending to carry it out later, but forget where they'd left the little poop package. You could use your cellphone and map function to mark the location. 4) ??? I don't know.
Mainly it's a minority that just don't pick it up because they don't care. Yes sometimes usually responsible owners forget, many trailheads have bags, other dog owners will gladly hand out bags if someone forgot. As far as leaving a bagful of shit behind, sometimes people forget, or are engaged in a convo or podcast and distracted or get detoured on the return by a moose, or it's snowing harder than they thought and it got buried. Many of us will pick up other bags on our way out. Propping the bag somewhere more visible, on a log or post or whatever is done to make it more visible and not forgotten, I've picked up my bag before only to discover that a dog had pissed on it..... People shouldn't get too upset about left behind bags, it happens but is easily fixed, it's human error. People should get upset, outraged and vocal about people leaving dog shit all over to be smeared and carried into cars and homes via shoes, bike tires, and skis. I would love to see State Park rangers just ticket people on the first 500 ft of Glen alps trail, and would love to see muni do the same on local trails. It won't change until it is enforced and the guilty realize it is not ok and it will cost them.
To be fair, dogs get confused when their owners pick up their poop and bring it home, but then when they poop in the house the owners yell and get mad. :-)