Poo Patrol

Steve and I have been very lucky as dog owners over the last thirteen years, especially concerning the "poo" issue. We have a large back yard, almost half an acre, and the dogs have ALWAYS done their business way in the back near a fence. Rocky, our Border Collie, does not like to be watched while tending to his business and has been known to hide behind a shed, tree, or bush - which is fine by me.

Winkels, our small mutt, hasn't always been as good as Rocky about making it all the way to the edge of the property. But it's never been a problem. I've never had to pick up poo. Even once Will was old enough to play outside, we never had an instance of him stepping in poo or it being around his play area.

In fact, the first time I saw an emblem similar to the one at the top of this post, I laughed. What, I thought, people can't pick up after their own dogs?

Well, like many words I've eaten over the years, those are sticking in my craw at the moment.

Both our dogs got seriously sick the first week of December and have still not recovered 100%. They are well enough I expect them to hold on another year or two, but the change has been drastic. Most noticeably, their lack of activity and inability to walk far. As you can guess, when I can get them to take their business outside, it's not very damn far.

During the worse of her illness, Winkels wouldn't even make it off the back porch. I can't tell you how many presents I stepped on less than two feet from the door before I got use to checking for them. With improved health they have both gotten a little better, but not beyond the used portion of our back yard.

So for the first time in MY LIFE I am having to pick up dog poo. At least once a week I take a five gallon bucket, a hoe, and a shovel and patrol the back yard for time bombs. It's not something I use to doing, nor do I in any way enjoy it. However, I do enjoy being able to walk in my back yard and not come away with stinky shoes. Or, worse yet, find Will wiping his shoe off with his bare hand.

Sure, there are some things I haven't figured out yet. Like what to do with a gallon of poo. It just seems odd to dump it all against the back fence. I did learn one important thing though, to dump it immediately. Otherwise, you don't want to pear into the bucket after a good rain.