Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Goin' to the Dogs


Last summer's garden

Believe it or not, I AM putting things in the ground this year. I didn't really know how much I'd actually get to with such a new babe around the homestead, but I decided to take it in slow, small increments and see how I fared. I'm trying to get one bed planted a day, and it's been going well (not counting the rain... oh! the rain!). I am truly the sort of dame that revels in having her hands (and feet and knees and face) dirty, so it's been blissful tying the baby to my back and setting about my work in the garden. Unfortunately, there's one thing ruining it all for me.

Dog poop.

And I don't even have a dog.

For whatever reason my neighbors, whose yard is actually smaller than my teeny yard (you can see their house in the picture above), decided to get not one, not two, not three, but FOUR dogs. Whaaa? They got a puppy last year shortly after they moved into the house, and the poor pup spent all his time outdoors in the kennel come rain, shine, snow, hail or whatever. No dog house. It was dreadful. Now they have all four of the dogs in the kennel! Everytime I go out to do my garden chores, I am beset by the foul fecal smell of those animals. Now, I love dogs. I may be a cat person, but I love dogs too. But come on! Four medium-sized dogs in a kennel meant for one? And no poo cleanup!?

In a neighborhood as closely packed as this one, there has to be a little consideration for your fellow human beings, don't you think? I mean, I asked them before I decided to bring bees onto the homestead, and I nixed the idea because my canine-lovin' neighbor is allergic. Where's the love?

3 comments:

The Wanton Gardener said...

Yikes! I feel for you - and the dogs. That sounds like a case of neglect to me. I'd make an anonymous call to the local shelter or humane society. They're usually set up to send someone by the house casually, do an inspection from a distance and then take action if they feel that neglect is indeed happening. If its boarderline, they'll send someone by to "check-in" from time to time to make sure its not getting worse. Good luck! Also, I like your blog!

Mist said...

Jennifer, thanks for stopping by and for the compliment!

I did call the Humane Society this past winter when the first poor pup was outside in a snow storm with no shelter and frozen water. I'm not sure what has happened from there. I even offered to go pick up a dog house for them that someone was freecycling, but they said they didn't want it. *shrugs*

I noticed that today, they took the dogs inside when it was raining. That's a good sign, right? Still, I was gagging on the stench while I was planting between raindrops. Ugh!

Barb J. said...

I feel your pain! I have a neighbor with three or four dogs that never scoops their yard. It certainly makes it hard on hot steamy days to be in my own yard. Maybe you could call the code enforcement officer for your city?