this neighborhood is going to the dogs.

the world is a big steaming pile of dog poo. well, maybe not the world, although george bush isn't doing much for the america's image. but that's beside the point.

i just took the dog out since his master and commander is working and dad, who usually gives in first, is at the beach. for the little jaunts we walk him down the side street - we're on a corner. the side street is nobody's front yard, and we pick up after our dog, so really it's not a big deal.

our backyard neighbor, let's call him J, is an elderly man who lives by himself. 90% of the time J keeps to himself...but he's really big on dog poop. there are people in our neighborhood who do not clean up after their dogs. these people happen to live in direct proximity to us and the same side street. i'm sure you see where i'm going with this.

in the past, J has resorted to papering his fence with signs that read "clean up after your dog" and "no dumping here" (haha, funny J). we always clean up after oliver. you never see any of us walking him without a baggy for the dirty job. never. we don't appreciate it when owners don't clean up after their dogs on our property, and so we're pretty vigilant about cleaning up after ours.

today, as usual, i walk oliver down the side street. at a slow pace it's a good 3 minute walk down, and oliver loves to sniff everything so it's usually slower. typically, by the time we've reached the end of the street, he's ready to do his business. who doesn't have a bathroom routine? i mean, c'mon.

so he's sniffing around, and J walks out from his front yard and starts chastising me. i hold up the bag. he relents, momentarily. i pick up the poo, and he starts in again.

"well, look at this! this here!" (J points to poo by his fence)
"i know, it's a shame that some people dont' pick up after their dogs"
"listen, you live down there, right?" (J points to main ave on which we live)
"yes, we're your neighbors"
"well, you don't live on this street, so don't walk your dog here anymore. just walk him on your street! i dont want to see you here anymore!"

are you kidding me?! i calmly pointed out that i had picked up after my dog, and that all of us pick up after this particular dog. he can run poo analysis for all i care. he continued his diatribe and i simply said that we all live in this neighborhood, and that when he owns the whole place i'll consider listening. in the meantime, i will continue to walk my dog and clean up after him.

now i know he's elderly, and i know he lives alone, but man, that really ticked me off today. we do our part to keep the neighborhood clean. get off my back, man.