Doggies

Read a N.Y. Times article this weekend about the Parisian government instituting a strict fine system for dog owners who do not pick up after their dogs. It was suggested that a primary reason for Parisians not to pick up after their dogs was one of embarassment.<BR>WHAT'S UP WITH THAT?<BR>All you read about on this board and elsewhere is how sophisticated the French (Parisians) are. Do they really have hang ups involving a necessary biological function that all living creatures have? If that is the case why are Americans so hung up about being seen wearing sneakers by these very people who can't bring themselves to clean up after their dogs. People talk about how Venice smells (which I disagree). How does Paris smell on a hot August day? Maybe that's why Parisians decide to head for the coast at that time!

Ohpoop

I couldn't agree more with your talk about the dog doo in Paris. That was one of my biggest complaints when we were there. Do these people not know how to clean up after their dogs?? It is disgusting. You have to keep your eyes on the sidewalk at all times to avoid stepping in the dog poop. I couldn't wait to get out of Paris. For all those of you who will reply that Paris doesn't need me there, I couldn't agree more. The French can have it.

mark

I'm a NYer and dog owner (I really cleanup after my dog - not to the extent that Earth Kitt does, she wipes her dog's butt - I kid you not) Anyway - a fellow dog owner who lives near the UN relayed this story to me: While cleaning up after her dog one day she had a group of tourists taking pictures her doing what is required by law. Being a NYer she was like " ..WHAT THE BLEEP BLEEP BLEEP IS YOUR BLEEP BLEEP BLEEP PROBLEM?..." Comes out they were from - I believe - Norway or France - I can't remember - and said that dog poo was a major problem in their city. And they wanted to show their friends that NYers cleaned up after their dogs. <BR>As for the other stuff Doggies is concerned with - smells kinda suspicious to me.<BR>Anybody have any other funny dog stories? They don't have to have a scatalogical theme to them - in fact, that would be preferred.

yuck

I read that about 600 people go to the hospital in Paris each year, from injuries suffered from stepping in/slipping on -- dog poop!

mark

Sorry - I meant EarthA Kitt.<BR><BR>And how many people slip in the bath tub every year?<BR><BR>Don't get me wrong - I've yelled at numerous dog owners who didn't clean up after their dog. Now if we could only do the same thing about cigarette smokers and their habit of throwing their cig butts on the ground. Which by the way - 1 cig butt take 10 years to disintegrate.

yuck

How about this--my dog likes to eat the cigarette butts he finds on the ground! He will be so happy if we move to Paris, he can poop anywhere he wants and have a cigarette!

mark

Just like a child - eating nicotine can kill. So yuck - instead of moving to Paris maybe you should find a more compassionate owner for your dog.

Florence

Parisians have been used to someone cleaning after their dog. Having to do it themselves is seen as an attack on their basic liberties. Victims of their dog's leftovers who dare to complain are considered worse than a Chinese restaurant owner who serves dog meat. Happily, the mayor of Paris has just been elected. Had he passed that measure before the elections, he would have lost. Now if only that law could be enforced in Geneva too ...

yuck

OH Mark, lighten up! Having seen your posts on other threads, we should expect your sourpuss remarks-of course we all know about nicotine-and that was meant as something you might find a little foreign -- humor~He eats my socks too, what do you think of that~maybe I should have my feet cut off?

Philip

The actress Kathy Bates told of how she was in a city signing autographs. Later she went to walk her dog and had forgotten to bring anything to clean up after the dog. She reached down to pick up a piece of litter off the ground to clean up after her dog and realized that it was one of the autographs she had signed that afternoon.

NYer

Hey Mark-if that was you that asked if anyone had any funny stories-how come you got on Yuck for that story? Chill out man.<BR>

cdf

Walking around NY Soho the other day, I was surprised to see that there were a lot of dog "leavings" on the sidewalks,they have been pretty much absent the past few years.Instead of being annoyed, I smiled and told my husband that it reminded me of Paris and I want to take another trip~C

minbrooklyn

Well, I have a cat, which eliminates the problem (still have to clean the litter box, that's ok). I've seen women in fur coats picking up after their dogs in Manhattan. Now I do have a problem with the people in the park that let their dogs drink out of the water fountains meant for people (yes, the parks do have fountains for dogs here).

clairobscur

Embarassment...well, perhaps. But the main reason, IMO, is that they couldn't care less.<BR><BR>Concerning the fine, AFAIK, there has always been fines for people who don't clean after their dog. But I never heard that someone has actually be fined. Perhaps they decided to actually enforce it. Who knows? Miracles happen...

chien

Acoup[le of years ago I witnessed the official Pooper Scooper Squad in Paris!On your next visit keep an eye out formen dressed in bright green jump suitd on matching scooters.They try to keep up with the poop by zipping around on their scooters with an vacuum-like device attached to the back of the scooter!I'm not kidding!What a job to have!

cdf

minbrooklyn, Have you seen the Dog Bar they have at the Hudson Hotel in Soho, they should have those all over the city,then we can keep our water fountains to ourselves re:cats and litter boxes, I had a kitten once that loved to perch on the edge of my mothers geranium and go to the bathroom in it

Yvonne

In my three trips to Paris I've never noticed a mine field of dog droppings. I did read in an article that the pooper budget will be slashed, and that fines will be managed so that "friends" in the government will not be able to fix it.

aa

If you're worried about dogs drinking from the fountains, don't even think about all the pigeons that do the same thing! I bring my water with me. <BR>They can make the fines sky high for not cleaning up after dogs, but until the laws are enforced, nothing will happen. Either the police or the Parisians themselves will have to make sure dog owners clean up after their dogs. Until then, the merde will rule the day.

newyork

OH Yuck, I have never thought of the pigeons -- ick ick! :0)

Capo

A strict fine system for dog owners who don't pick up after their dogs seems reasonable to me. Very interesting that the article in the New York Times suggested that a primary reason for Parisians not picking up after their dogs was embarassment. Embarrassment that they should actually have to clean up messes made on public sidewalks by their pets, but not embarrassment at their pets actually making the mess in the first place?