Dog Messes

What is it with some dog owners? Such a strong sense of entitlement!! What is so special about their dog's poop, that they think it doesn't need to be cleaned up?

I see it every day. People out walking their dogs, looking around as they stand near their hunched pet, as if in denial about what is happening. And then they walk away! I know it's not a pleasant job, but neither is changing a baby's diaper and no one abandons that responsibility.

When people get a dog, they should have to sign a paper saying they will stoop to scoop. Or else there should be an all-knowing, ever-present Dog God in the sky who can see everything and who will give them an electronic zap if they decide to walk away from their mutt's mound. Shock the hell out of 'em. Obviously there are not enough dog bylaw officers around to charge people -- and a $50 fine is hardly a deterrent.

There's a lot of dogs around. If everyone left a pile, the streets would be unsafe to walk on. There are no excuses, no special situations, no unusual circumstances to consider. . . It's your pet -- clean up after it!

Sneezers

With all this flu focus on how to wash your hands and sneeze into your elbow to prevent the unnecessary spread of germs, you'd think folks would clue in. But as usual, we have some people going overboard, and others not even trying to do the bare minimum to appease those around them who are in close proximity to their filthy germs. For sure, a sneeze in public is taking on a whole new meaning. If you never noticed sneezers before, you sure as heck will now.

It seems a bus-riding Victoria senior got what she wanted. A fellow passenger (a 40-something govt worker) was apparently sneezing. The senior did not like this. She approached the driver and demanded that the sneezer be removed from the bus before any possible H1N1 germs could be passed to the other passengers. Reluctantly, the driver carried out the old lady's wishes, and the sneezer was left to walk to work.

The other day I took a plane to that very Victoria. As we sat on the tarmac at Edmonton International Airport getting settled into our seats for the impending flight, I was dismayed to notice the young fellow who sat directly behind me was sneezing. Not a gentle little "achoo" but a huge, snotty explosion of germy spray -- and not once but several times. No sleeve sneeze for this mannerless man. Hygiene was a foreign concept! I became ill just thinking of the germs I'd be inhaling; oh how I wanted to open the window! But of course, at 40 thousand feet that would cause more commotion than the evicting incident on the city bus. Would he at least consider going into the washroom to grab a handful of toilet paper? Nah.

I wish I'd have known about that Victoria senior. Perhaps she would have inspired me to ask the flight attendants to remove the offending sneezer and make HIM walk. It's doubtful, but it sure would have made me feel good.