The Journal

Issue date: 11/8/07 Section: Opinion/Editorial

Dog is man's best friend. People love their dogs and truly treat them as they would their best friends. People buy dogs presents, give them special treats to celebrate accomplishments, converse with them and offer them food or drink when needed. People walk with their friends and they walk with their dogs, but when someone's best friend poops on the side of the road, people do not bend over with a little baggy to scoop up their mess.

If your best friend were to poop on the side of the road while taking a walk, you would probably react to it just as the guilty pet owner avoiding the pooper-scooper laws do. You would quickly check to make sure no one is watching, hope they finish quickly and flee the scene of the crime.

Maybe I'm being just as sneaky as the guy who runs the red light at three in the morning when no one is around. Even if you don't get caught, you are still breaking the law. I realize that, but the key here is simply don't get caught.

Law-abiding citizens proudly swing their doggie-bags as they trot down the street. It is illegal in most cities not to do so. In Webster Groves alone, it is illegal for people to walk their dog and "fail to have in their possession the equipment necessary to remove their animal's fecal matter when accompanied by said animal on public property or public easement, or private property of another." You cannot walk out the door without your pooper-scooper without risking a fine of up to $150.

No one likes to step in doggie-doo. But name me one person who likes to carry it around with them.

A lady who used to walk her dog down my street in Webster Groves every morning didn't like to carry her dog's mess around with her. But she was a better citizen than I - she picked up the mess. Then, she would hang the baggy entangled in the growth of my climbing roses that grew on the fence next to the sidewalk.

These halfway lawful citizens often deem themselves superior over those of us who simply pray our pooches decide to relieve themselves next to that covered bush instead of out in the open yard. Yet how much better are they, really?

"Sure I clean up after my dog," one neighborhood dog lover said. "Depending on who's yard it is of course. No one likes to step in that, but there are some people I wouldn't mind having step in it."

So now the truth comes out. These Ziploc-toting dog walkers pick-and-choose their victims. They are masking their true intent: revenge on disliked neighbors.

"If they aren't caught in the act itself, they get away free," said a St. Louis County Parks Ranger who asked to remain anonymous.

That is the biggest problem the St. Louis County Park Rangers have with dog walkers. All they can do is up the amount of surveillance in an area according to the amount of complaints received by the Citizen's Bureau.

"Oh, we get a massive amount of complaints about dog owners not cleaning up after their animals," said Andrew Hernandez, a supervisor at the St. Louis County Citizen's Bureau. "I've received two to three complaints in e-mail already only this morning, and I haven't even checked the phone complaints yet."

So I am not alone in my stand against the law. They are spread out far and wide around the St. Louis area. They lurk in county and city parks, strolling down your sidewalk and in your own front yard. So be sure to keep good relations with your neighbors ­- unless they own cats.

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