Polite Society

Today. Late afternoon. I’m walking down a Main Street sidewalk. The sun is still out. In plain daylight some guy lets his dog dump on the edge of the sidewalk. “Good dog,” he comments to his pooch. Then he kicks snow over the mess. Out of sight, out of mind.

I didn’t feel like confronting the guy at that moment. But later on things would change my attitude.

Tonight I’m on my way to the coffeehouse and there are large dog turds all over the sidewalk in front of my bank’s ATM. I notice two girls with big dogs go inside to their upstairs apartment right next to the canine carpet-bombing. After I photographically document the dogshit scattered all over, the girls come out. I politely ask about the crap on the sidewalk but they know nothing about it.

As I walk along, my anger grows. All these dog-owners and none of them are responsible or have seen anything. Apparently anyone who gets around on foot has to watch where he steps and just dodge the dogshit without complaint.

After I entered the coffeehouse, I recognize the dog owner and his dog from earlier in the day sitting at a table with some friends. I look, making sure all the details match, including the owner’s and his pet’s features and clothing. (Doggie sweater.)

I walk over to the table and politely ask the dog-owner if I had seen him earlier that day with this dog. He gets defensive. Why should I want to know? I explain that I saw someone let his dog shit on the sidewalk and then he tried to hide the evidence under some snow. One of his friends at the table says I have no right to bring up that subject while the dog-owner is with his friends.

Oh, my – I had committed a horrendous faux pas. Embarrassing someone too lazy to pick up after his dog is such a vile transgression of etiquette.

But leaving fresh dogshit on a sidewalk – why, that is the height of polite society.