OUR VIEW: Pet owners must clean up waste

Try as we might, there is just no way to clean up this editorial. We’re talking poop here, folks — dog poop — and the need for pet owners to keep it under control.

We feel we have no other choice than to get right down to the basics in our vocabulary. There’s no way to dress it up or make it sound like something it isn’t. We can’t escape it.

Why try to hide it in our vocabulary when it’s all around us in our daily walks through Seymour and other communities in Jackson County — on sidewalks, in neatly manicured lawns, sometimes hidden from view by leaves or tall grass but ever so evident when some poor soul steps on said spot?

We recently heard complaints about pet waste from residents on the city’s northeast side and have heard similar complaints elsewhere.

Dogs can’t clean up after themselves. It’s up to their masters or mistresses.

A lot of those dog walkers have been falling down on their responsibilities. Who knows, maybe they’re not aware that it’s up to them or that the people who follow in their paths are upset by what they have to step over or around or roll over with their mower wheels. Yuck.

Obviously, they are unaware that failure to clean up after their pet is a crime. Get caught enough times and an offender can be forced to fork over fines.

It’s time for the decent people of this community to overcome this reluctance to speak frankly. Dog owners — clean up after your pets. The law requires it. Common decency demands it.

Pet owners should make it a matter of routine to take along doggie bags or a good supply of paper towels to clean up after their animals.

If just one offender witnesses such a cleanup routine and gets the message, then a good deed will have been done. Perhaps it will encourage the scofflaws among us to follow their lead.

This is also a matter that could be addressed by the pet owner community. Veterinary clinics and pet stores could post signs urging their human clients to do the right thing and pick up their dog’s doo.

The bottom line on all these messages should simply be that cleaning up after your pet is the right thing to do.

What do you think?

What’s your opinion on this topic? Send your comments to ddavis@tribtown.com. You can find copies of earlier editorials online at TribTown.com.