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Ask Dog Lady

Friday Feb 14, 2020

This article is from the February 13, 2020 issue of South End News.


Ask Dog Lady

Dear Dog Lady,
Maybe you have covered this before but in the past year or so, I see an increasing number of little plastic bags with dog poop in the middle of the South End, roughly Tremont and its side streets. There are so many of these small bags, I assume professional dog walker (s) are leaving these. Abandoning these bags for someone else to pick up seems like an anti-social act intended to give the finger to residents. I wish someone could bust the poop leavers by taking a photo of the offender (s).

—Richard

Dear Richard,
Ask Dog Lady hopes you are wrong about professional dog walkers leaving those nasty bags behind because professional dog walkers should know better. Amateur dog walkers, on the other hand, sometimes need some hard lessons in life on the streets and "doing unto others. . ." When a person first gets a dog and must pick up, there can be a tendency to take short cuts. If a trash can is not handy, the penchant is often to stash it anywhere.
Dog Lady implores everyone who walks a dog to pick up after. Make sure you have a strategy for disposing the bag—a public receptacle, a trash can at home. Yes, picking up and disposing of dog waste is a yucky downside of keeping a dog. But if you do it successfully, you're a hero. Also, please ensure you use environmentally-friendly biodegradable bags to pick up. Ask Dog Lady recommends BioBags, certifiably compostable bags (available in the South End at Polka Dog Bakery and online at chewy.com and amazon.com).


Dear Dog Lady,
My little Gizmo was an abandoned terrier mix. She came into the shelter with ticks, tapeworm, whipworm and a burn. She also had a sore on her leg and was underweight. As I looked around the shelter and saw the little shaky dog, I fell in love with her. She is the joy in my life and is the best little dog in the world. She never did any messes in the house nor tore up anything. She enjoys carrying one or two or even three socks or slippers in her mouth and whimpers as she tries to "bury" them in her bed or the couch. She even pushes imaginary dirt over them. She is five years old. Do you know why she does this?

—Michele

Dear Michele,
Over years writing this column and delving into the magical thinking of dogs, Dog Lady has concluded that when they do quirky things such as carrying nightgowns, dancing around food, or letting out a happy yowl when you enter the room, they celebrate life. They're not worrying about predators, sickness, ill health, hunger or any of the immediate fears inherent in their species; they are merely going to their happy place. In dogs, this comes out as primitive behavior that brings them joy—uch as pushing imaginary dirt over a couple of socks buried in the couch. Gizmo acts out the rituals of his ancestors because he's completely comfortable to be a dog. You have made him secure. He does not feel abandoned, unloved or unwanted.

Write: askdoglady@gmail.com