The Ridgewood Blog Brings a Free Market Laissez-faire Point of View to Local, New Jersey State and National Issues.
Picking up after pets is one of those household responsibilities that no one enjoys but everyone understands is necessary. Still, there are many misconceptions floating around about what it means to use a pooper scooper or hire a service to handle the task.
Continue reading Debunking the Top Myths About Using a Pooper Scooper
Owning a pet brings immense joy and companionship, but it also comes with responsibilities, particularly regarding hygiene.
A clean and safe environment is essential not only for the health and well-being of your pet but also for the people living in the same space.
From managing pet waste to addressing grooming routines, maintaining hygiene is a crucial aspect of responsible pet ownership.
Continue reading The Importance of Hygiene in Pet Ownership: Maintaining a Safe Environment
June 11.2018
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, the Ridgewood blog picked this up off a Facebook group “it takes a Ridgewood Village” ,the author Anne LaGrange Loving gives the latest on her dog walking experience , “So here is a new one (to me). I was walking my elderly dog very early this morning and up ahead I saw a woman walking a dog. He pooped, she stopped to bag it, and then she left the bag full of poop there on the grass. What? I could not believe it. I continued walking, but she was getting further ahead because my old dog is pretty slow and we cannot cover much ground at all. But lo and behold, several houses later I saw the same thing happen, bag of poop left behind again. Besides being extraordinarily rude (and I believe against local law), it struck me as really weird that she would bother to bag it if she was not going to take it. Shaking my head.”
photo by William Thomas
I love dogs more than people. And I say no.
We have eliminated large swaths of wooded areas. When I was a kid, about 100 years ago, my dog ran free with me. Didn’t bother anyone. Now with our limited parks, they should be saved for walkers and kids playing games, etc. But maybe we could have one park for dogs and their owners. Not all of them.
But really let’s save the parks for walkers and runners who want to exercise without stress and enjoy the parks without worry about dogs approaching them.
I mean even crossing a street is stressful now with all the traffic and the way people drive. . It is imperative to keep the parks dog free. Dogs do run up to strangers, or walk up to sniff and it is stressful. Parks are for people to enjoy. People need some place to walk without worry about cars or dogs.
I love it when I have the opportunity to babysit a family dog; I even feel sorry that the dog can’t run and explore in a park; but people come first. Again, maybe one park. Maybe not.
No, let’s NOT give up a park to dogs! Imagine how well that would turn out! Our parks are for people. They have already been given up to sports diamonds and fields and fences, and when that particular sport isn’t in season, the place is a waste. Speaking of waste, what would be the criterion indicating that such an experiment had failed? Lawsuits from dog bites (inevitable)? Dog litter all over the place (laughably inevitable)? Are we really expecting any follow-up at all from the town for this when we get it for nothing else? People who merely felt intimidated or uncomfortable or allergic regarding the omnipresence of canines would not complain, but probably just stop going to the park. Is that fair? Dog owners are not uniformly respectful of other people and do not consistently keep their dogs in tow. I would hate being sniffed at, run after, leg-humped, and slobbered on or to watch it happen to others, or to have to extricate myself from a long leash–that happens already. Dogs smell, shed, and trail menstrual blood. And bark. Sorry, people, dogs are not people! Some towns may allow this, but plenty forbid dogs in parks. If we changed our ordinance, people from those towns would all come here with their dogs! This is NOT far fetched (to coin a phrase).When a reasonable ordinance is not respected, you don’t rewrite the ordinance–you enforce it. That’s the real answer: give tickets to dog owners outside the dog runs, which they are lucky to have. NO DOGS.
The reality is that there are dogs in all the town parks every day, ordinance notwithstanding. Look at Habernickel, dogs run up there on and off leash. People walk their dogs through Van Neste and people congregate at Brookside field to let their dogs run loose and at any given ball game parents are on the sidelines with the family dogs. The ordinance is completely ignored just like so many of the stupid laws that exist in this town. No need to change the ordinance, just keep bringing your dogs like you already are doing only please remember to clean up after them. And oh by the way throw away your soda cans and candy wrappers in garbage cans while you are at it.