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Cathy M. Rosenthal, Tribune Content Agency on Apr 7, 2021

While I am thrilled that you retrieve your dog’s poop bag, you must know there are people who will forget it or even leave it behind intentionally. There also is no way to look at a poop bag on the ground and know the dog owner’s intentions. So does a neighbor wait for someone to pick it up or pick it up and dispose of it, grumbling all the while about dog owners?

To maintain neighborhood harmony, dog owners need to carry their dog’s poop home. The best way to do this is to use one bag to pick up the poop and tie it into a knot, then drop it into another bag and knot that bag. This eliminates any odor and is the best way to be a good neighbor. I hope you will consider trying this.

Dear Cathy,

I just read the column about dog owners leaving full poop bags on sidewalks. I saw this a few years ago in West Hollywood. There was a lack of waste containers, and I just figured that without a convenient place to dispose of the poop bags, they were just left in place. I think the moral of the story is that we need to have convenient waste disposal available in our walkable cities. — Timothy, Tucson, Arizona

Dear Timothy,

In my old neighborhood, the Homeowner’s Association put trash containers and doggie poop bags every quarter mile. It definitely got people to pick up after their dogs, so your idea has some merit, especially in public spaces. When neighborhoods don’t have public waste containers, some dog owners will dispose of their dog’s poop bag in a neighbor’s trash can. While this may seem logical, please know there are people out there who will get extremely angry with you for using their trash can.

Dog owners, please take your dog’s poop bag with you and dispose of it at home.

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(Cathy M. Rosenthal is a longtime animal advocate, author, columnist and pet expert who has more than 25 years in the animal welfare field. Send your pet questions, stories and tips to cathy@petpundit.com. Please include your name, city, and state. You can follow her @cathymrosenthal.)