Always Bring an Extra Bag

The other day I was out perambulating Miss Lucy. I started out in the culdesac near my house and Lucy obliged with a truly prodigious pile of excrement which I gathered up in the poop bag I had brought with me. I temporarily deposited the bag next to my mailbox, as is my common practice, and continued our walk. As we made our way down Aprilbud Drive the thought entered my head that I had not brought a second bag for the trip. For a minute a sense of dread passed through my mind, as memories of previous “one poop bag” walks had been attempted with disastrous results. But, surely after the mountain of feces I had just collected from her, I would be safe this time, I told myself.

But, as is often the case where Lucy is concerned, the worst case scenario usually prevails. So there we were walking past the Oley’s beautifully maintained, meticulously groomed yard, when Lucy decides it’s time for round two. A one sided conversation ensued:

Me: Seriously, Lucy? Are you kidding me right now? 

Lucy: …..crickets……

Me: So now I’m gonna have to go all the way back to the house to get another poop bag, then come all the way back here to clean up after you?? How rude?!

Lucy:….low growl after big stretch….

Lucky for me, a sweet neighbor had just left her house next door to walk her dog and offered me a spare bag, saving me the trouble of the return trip. After dropping the completely purged Lucy back home I continued on my 6 mile walk without further embarrassment…except for one thing. On two other occasions I nearly stepped in even more canine bowel movements. As someone who walks this neighborhood religiously this is a relatively new phenomenon. We Wythe-Traceians have a pretty good record of cleaning up after our pups. As someone who has walked through several of our surrounding neighborhoods I can attest to the fact that we compare favorably with most in this regard! The sudden appearance of un-bagged doggie number twos can only mean one of two things…either dogs are roaming the neighborhood unleashed or one or more dog owners have temporarily taken leave of their senses, forgetting the number one rule of dog ownership in the suburbs—never leave your dog’s dumps in the streets! (Alert readers will note the great lengths I have gone to in this post trying to avoid the word shit). 

So, just a heads up to all of our fantastic neighbors, always bring at least two poop bags when walking your dogs. I could tell you about the time Lucy went through three bags in one thirty minute walk, but that’s a story for another day!

Happy walking, everyone!