It amazes me everyday how filthy the streets of San Francisco really are. I don’t mean the rubbish flying around on the side of the road, or the homeless camped out under the freeways, because really, you can find that in almost any big city. I mean the poop I see everyday on the streets. Dog poop, people poop, you name it, I usually see it at least once a day. As a pedestrian in this city, I am grossed out by the fact that I can’t walk down the street without watching where I walk because of the minefield of poop on the streets. As a dog owner, however, I am outraged, especially by the dog poop that people carelessly leave every which way. Now, my dog, she poops a lot, probably more than any other dog I’ve ever met. I always have poop bags on hand, and I make sure to pick up her poop, even if it’s in some grassy/wooded area because really, you just never know who might end up traipsing through there. I have noticed, that as the weather has become more rainy, the existence of poop on the streets seems to have exponentially increased.
Take, for example, my last “step in poop” experience. It had been a fairly rainy week, and because of that, on the first somewhat clear day, we took the kids for a walk. Within the first five minutes, I stepped in poop in the building backyard. This backyard has TWO trash stations with complimentary poop bags, so there is no excuse for NOT picking up your dog’s poop!!! After unsuccessfully trying to remove the grossness from my shoe, we kept walking, and behind the baseball field, I stepped in poop AGAIN! Twice in a half an hour period! And once again, the area where I stepped in poop the second time, was full of complimentary poop bags! Two days later, I stepped in poop for a third time, this time on the way to work. I mean, okay, fine, it was raining outside, you want to hurry up and get back inside where it’s dry. But c’mon people, you’re already outside, it takes two seconds to pull out a poop bag (which, if you’re a dog owner, you SHOULD have on hand), and pick up the poop!!! It’s people like that, who make cities less dog-friendly. Granted, SF is still the most dog friendly place I’ve been to, but I’d imagine, if this trend continues, there will be more and more rules making the city less friendly to you and your 4-legged pal. Think about it…