I have lived in Sooke for about three years and I do not have a dog. Sooke has a big dog community, probably because there are a lot of trails and beautiful terrain.
I have two children and I like letting them off the leash once and a while so they can run around too. Luckily, my oldest is potty trained and my youngest is still in diapers. Can you imagine if we went on a long outdoor walk and heaven forbid, my little one soiled her diaper? What would happen if I changed the dirty diaper and just left it on the trail, under a bush, tossed into someone’s backyard, or beside the mail box bin? I would hope someone would reprimand me because that is disgusting, unsanitary and not to mention littering. Or better yet, please feel free to public humiliate me.
Changing poopy diapers couldn’t possibly be compared to picking up dog poop, could it? Not even close. Picking up a pile of static poop with a hand inside a plastic bag is like a piece of cake (only warmer)… but I digress.
On our walks I often see little brown plastic bags tied in a bow just sitting on the ground. I walked around my block tonight and counted six mysterious brown plastic poop bags along our path. That is not an accident. Has it become trendy now to be rude and inconsiderate?
To all the dog owners out there, please enlighten me; why go to all the trouble of bending down and scooping the compostable waste into a non-biodegradable bag, to then just leave the bag sitting on the ground. I do not understand this dichotomy. It must be part laziness and part stupidity. And to all those responsible dog owners that just let their dogs’ poop biodegrade into the sidewalk-bravo to you.
Do I have to ask? Please, can you stop littering our beautiful town with plastic poop?
Elisa Jensen
Sooke