Dealing with Your Block's Dog Waste Pick Up Scofflaw in Boston

A while back we received an email from a reader of our City Paws newspaper column who loves dogs but is having a real problem with one irresponsible neighbor with a dog. Rather than properly disposing of bags of dog waste, this person is leaving the bags on the sidewalk where they multiply for days at a time.

The vast majority of people with dogs do pick up and properly dispose of dog waste. Many of us carry a container of pick up bags right on our leashes, like the ones shown in the photo above. However it only takes one scofflaw on a block to give all dog people a bad name.

Our block has had our share of scofflaws and, in addition to picking up after them ourselves, we have joined with neighbors to identify the culprits and try to deal with their behavior.  

 

Proper Disposal of Dog Waste

First you should know the legal grounds for a complaint to authorities in any case that involves disposal of dog waste. If you go to the city’s webpage on the topic, you’ll find links to the regulations.

While written in legal language, the city ordinance requires that those who are out and about with a dog:

1. Must remove all feces left by the dog on public property and on any private property that they do not own or occupy.
2. Must be able to show that they have a means of removal with them at all times. That means carrying a supply of pick up bags, not the one or two you thought you might need.
3. Must transport, “... such feces to a receptacle or other place suitable for the disposal of waste, trash, or debris.”

Sadly, if the irresponsible person happens to be over age 65, he or she is exempt from the ordinance and may get away with not picking up after a dog. However they still can't leave bags of dog waste in front of a building.

Action Steps

If you have a similar problem, first try to identify the person responsible, note their address and a description of the dog or dogs. Spread the word to neighbors to help with this step. In one case on my block, it was a woman who stood in her doorway and let her dogs out, off leash, to do their business every morning.

Call Animal Control with the address and a description. If the dog is licensed, they may be able to identify and warn the scofflaw. If you can give them a sense of a pattern of walks or the times when they might catch the person in the act, it might encourage them to send out an officer.

In the case of bagged dog waste, contact Inspectional Services and they can cite the building for improper garbage disposal.

Finally there is the 311 line by phone or the 311 app on a smartphone. If you and your neighbors keep sending in complaints, the city will be forced to respond. Having multiple complaints from other abutters will strengthen your case.

Unfortunately experience has taught us that confronting someone who would do something like this is unlikely to help. This type of behavior often seems to point to a wider issue of a person who is lacking in appropriate social skills or who is arrogant enough to believe that rules do not apply to them.

      

If you carry an ample supply of bags, (we buy them by the thousand!) you can offer one to someone when it looks like they are not going to pick up after their dog. Our favorite way to address this situation is to say, “You dropped something!” When they spin around to see what possible treasure they lost, we offer a pick up bag.

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Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photos: ©2017 Penny & Ed Cherubino 
(Adapted for BostonZest from one of our City Paws newspaper columns.)