There’s no excuse for not picking up dog poop, but as has been alluded to in other posts, the woman is correct on this point, and you are wrong.
The limits of your property almost certainly do not extend out to the street. Usually property lines are set back 10 feet from the curb, meaning that the so-called public “right-of-way” extends beyond both curbs by 10 feet. This is so the municipality can place sidewalks, utility poles, etc. in the right-of-way without having to get your permission. (Incidentally, this means that if you have a mailbox on the street, it’s not actually on your property.)
That being said, I understand that you are probably responsible for maintenance on the strip, including lawn care and clearing the sidewalks. And even if the strip is part of the public right-of-way, it’s still wrong for her to leave dog poop behind.
When we take our dog for walks, she often poops on the street or on the grass next to the street (technically on the public right-of-way). However, we always bring a couple of poop bags with us and we pick it up.
No update, the woman hasn’t been back. And if she has, either I didn’t see her or she picked it up. I am not vindictive, and could never go through with the actions some have recommended, as much as I dream about it. That, and yelling is way easier.
Let me tell you another story about the same woman, the only other time I have dealt with her. We had an accident on my corner, and she being a nurse stopped to help. When she went to leave, she tried to back up into my driveway. Missing it completely, she drove through my picket fence and into a 2 foot wide pine tree. I was standing 10 feet away talking to a cop and we both watched the whole thing, which may or may not be the reason she offered to pay to fix the fence (which came to about $130). I’m trying not to imagine what she’ll do for her third strike!
Well then, why when I had my property surveyed last summer did the property lines go right to the edge of the road? It’s marked that way, matched what was already in the books, and the official map filed with with the town shows it that way and was not challenged.
We do have an easement along the road for sidewalks, telephone poles, etc. But the easement is on my property, every square foot of which I pay property tax on. Yes, the surveyor did the math and it matched up with town hall. The easement just says the town can use that part of my property, but I still own it and pay taxes for it. The town even gave me a permit to put up a fence right along the sidewalk 2 feet from the curb; why would they do that if I don’t own the land? Lastly, part of my house is 4 feet away from the curb. I hope the town doesn’t own half of my kitchen!
(I’m not trying to start another debate here, I’m just replying to one post. And only in regards to whether or not I can stop somebody from letting their dog poop in a certain place near my house.)
I’d have screamed bloody murder at that insane woman…and I have a huge .54 acre yard enclosed by an invisible fence and my dogs poop in the areas they find attractive…and I don’t pick it up. I don’t really care about their poop…my dogs, my yard, the kids know the area of the minefield and steer clear of it and I mow right over it with my lawn tractor (I live on a parcel of insane hill) and I just don’t care.
But if I ever caught one of my neighbors allowing their dog to poop in my yard, then the battle is on. Seriously, let the dog poop in the unowned scraggly lots that are plentiful, or in YOUR own yard, beeatch. Its a respect thing. Fuck that woman, I would have gloved up and flung poo at her like the ape I am. There’s absolutely no excuse for that.
Oftentimes, your property line will go out to the back of curb, and though the sidewalk is the city’s, you own the planter strip, and are responsible for upkeep of the sidewalk. I’ve seen it where the sidewalk was broken and a tripping hazard, and the city fixed it and billed the owner.
I think you might be confusing property lines, easements, and rights-of-way. My property lines go right to the sidewalk, too, but the city has reserved about a meter from the sidewalk up onto my yard for their own right-of-way. I have some easements granted in the back, too, for a garage that encroaches a teeny bit on city right-of-way.
What? Where and when did you see a city bill a homeowner for repairs performed on a sidewalk? Homeowners are often required to shovel the snow on a sidewalk, but they aren’t required to perform all maintenance on the concrete itself. If you destroy it in the middle of a construction project, yes. Routine cracks and such… well, I’ve just never heard of it.
Agreed on this. My theory is that she’s trained the dog to go in his yard and ‘oh, car rides make him go poop!’ was the only thing she could think of when she was caught.
However, yeah, pet people can be weird. My Mom has a litter box out for her two cats to use…during car rides. (They roam freely in cars, the carrier is used only to transport them to and from the car). Because that’s a good smell in an enclosed space…
I once tried to have a cat roam freely in a car. The cat attached itself to the top of my head, claws out and yowling.
Huh. Where I live, dogs are often let roam free, and a lot of the land is just overgrown natural stuff. I’ve not encountered anyone who picks up after their dog at all, even in town.
Not that I don’t think what the OP is talking about is horribly rude.
Owner of 4 dogs here, my dogs (including a Labrador Retriever who has some heroic sized shits) all poop in my fenced backyard. I follow them around with a scooper, and deposit their poops in a Doggie Dooley.
I have therefore been amazed at the times poop has been found in my front yard.
Either a neighbor’s dog has decided my grass is the perfect place to shit, or one of my dogs is configuring his ass into a mortar lobbing position, and firing over the fence from the backyard. Since none of my dogs has in any way indicated a need for this specialized military poop dispersal method, I’m assuming that I have a neighbor with no morals whatsoever. I have yet to catch said dog in the act, but this thread has given me some ideas for when I do.
This thread reminds me of one of the dog training shows I saw on Animal Planet. This woman was tired of people not picking up after their dogs at an off-leash park with multiple plastic bag dispensers and garbage cans. She trained her dog so that when she saw somebody letting their dog poop and not pick it up, she could signal the dog to go to the dispenser, pull out a plastic bag, and carry it to the offender. I loved that lady!
Threads like these make me glad I live where I do. My house is on a fenced-in acre. My 16 lb. chihuahua just goes out a ways from the house and does his business, and I watch where I step.
No poop scooping, no pissed off neighbors. Their dogs shit in their own yards and the neighbors watch where they step.
