I (35M) was out on a walk with my kids in the neighborhood park. We came across a couple and their large dog took a shit, I watched them bag it and then…leave the bag next to the concrete path. They started walking away. I asked why they are leaving it. They said they’d get it on their way back.
I told them I thought that was rude as fuck and they should carry it. They told me they didn’t want to and to blame the city, they took away the trash cans. Which is true, the city took away the non ramada and playground trash cans. Budget cuts so less spots to service.
I pointed out they are still littering and its pretty disrespectful to your neighbors to leave it. I said they were lazy dog owners and pieces of shit themselves if they left it. They got pissed, called me an asshole and told me to mind my own business. They went a different direction than me and left the shit. No idea if it got picked up. Will see on tomorrows walk. AITA?
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I (35M) was out on a walk with my kids in the neighborhood park. We came across a couple and their large dog took a shit, I watched them bag it and then…leave the bag next to the concrete path. They started walking away. I asked why they are leaving it. They said they’d get it on their way back.
I told them I thought that was rude as fuck and they should carry it. They told me they didn’t want to and to blame the city, they took away the trash cans. Which is true, the city took away the non ramada and playground trash cans. Budget cuts so less spots to service.
I pointed out they are still littering and its pretty disrespectful to your neighbors to leave it. I said they were lazy dog owners and pieces of shit themselves if they left it. They got pissed, called me an asshole and told me to mind my own business. They went a different direction than me and left the shit. No idea if it got picked up. Will see on tomorrows walk. AITA?
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OP has offered the following explanation for why they think they might be the asshole:
> AITA for calling dog owners lazy for not carrying their poop? I might be the asshole because I chose to engage with strangers, was policing the behavior of other park goers, and called them names for leaving it.
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Contest mode is 1.5 hours long on this post.
You are 10,000% in the right here. Nta.
ESH
Regardless if there are trash cans nearby, it’s the dog owners responsibility to not leave their dogs waste. They are being lazy, disrespectful and are littering.
While I don’t think it would be wrong for you to have spoken up and said something, I do think it was wrong to be completely hostile to them, curse and call them names. I think you should have been more civil in handling the situation. I know people will disagree, but negativity only fuels fires.
NTA. I see people do this all the time… they take the time to bag up the poop and then leave it down against the sidewalk. It’s even more aggravating when there’s dumpsters nearby.
NTA
Good for you NTA.
I feel like this is an excuse I hear a lot and it can’t be everyone who picks it back up on their return. I guess it escalated quickly, but hopefully that altercation will make them think twice about leaving their shit lying around.
NTA
If you choose to own a dog, you are responsible for disposing of its waste responsibly.
If they truly had every intention of grabbing it on their way back through and it’d be like an hour or less, and assuming there really were no trash cans nearby, I can’t say I totally blame them. I wouldn’t want to walk around carrying a smelly bag of fresh dog shit for however long either. It’s still not great, especially leaving it by the path, but I wouldn’t quite call them assholes and I’d say NAH.
BUT, there’s also a pretty damn good chance they were lying and just planned to leave it there, in which case obviously they’re AH and you’re NTA.
What’s the point of them bagging it if they’re gonna leave it? SMH
Absolutely 100% NTA, holy shit I absolutely hate turnips that can’t take responsibility for their dog. No point in even bagging it if they’re just gonna leave it there.
I don’t get what the problem is in carrying it with them, it’s in a bag.
YTA
How is it rude? It’s a bag on the side of the street that they’ll get on their way back. What a weird thing to get upset about.
I’m kind of shocked that people are so up in arms about this. It’s normal around here to leave your poop bag if you’re going to be coming back the same way. Granted, some people forget, but none of us is perfect. I think you overreacted, personally. YTA if you really resorted to name-calling these people for something so benign.
NTA. As a dog owner, I despise people who just leave their dog shit laying around. Poop and scoop people!
ESH. While I can support calling them out, all the swearing is unnecessarily hostile and not likely to be effective in making them reconsider their practice next time.
Sometimes it is more difficult than it might appear. I think YTA. They bagged it, and they’ll probably throw it out. Sure, it’s nice to carry it the whole way and there are products that make it easier, but the smell comes out of the bag and if there is no trash can nearby, I think this is a pretty normal thing. Relax. Wild animals are going all over that park and carry more disease than a pet dog. Sometimes it’s easier to be friendly.
You should’ve unloaded a shit right there on the sidewalk and said “don’t worry I’ll come back for this..”
NTA. Responsible dog owners clean up their dog’s shit and take the bag to the next bin to dispose of it. No nonsense, be responsible. It’s dog owners like this to give all other dog owners a bad name.
NTA – No question they should have taken it, and you’re right to call them out on it but
> No idea if it got picked up.
I’m just curious, if you were so concerned about the litter and that they were not indeed going to pick it back up on the way back, why you didn’t pick it up and dispose of it?
NTA. Massive sense of entitlement from the owners that they can just leave a bag of shit lying around for everyone else to look at while they continue their walk. I bet they wouldn’t be happy if you dumped bags of shit on their driveway with a vague promise that you’ll come back later and collect it.
Anyway, you know as well as they did that they had no intention of collecting it later. They probably only bagged it and picked it up because you were there. If nobody was around, they would have just left it where it was for someone to step in.
NTA
People need to be responsible pet owners. They all claim they are gonna pick it up on the way back and it never happens. Smh
I’ve carried my dogs poop miles at a time before finding a garbage can. It’s not hard.
NTA. They are irresponsible dog owners and just plain rude and inconsiderate
NTA. The even stupidest thing is when dog owners bag up the poop and leave the bag on hiking trails that already have coyote and raccoon poop on them. Why even bag it, bro, there is already animal poop on the hiking trails!
I’ve left a bag next to a tree and grabbed it on my way home dozens of times. Like if she pooped right at the beginning of our walk. But you have no idea if they were actually going to pick it up or not on the way back so good for you I guess?
Dog owners can be pretty horrible, I say that as a dog owner. There is a growing resentment against dog walking where I Live. Signs on people’s lawns, even cameras and I see more and more poop bags laying around.
What they did was bs.
NTA
But also I’ve literally done what they said they were going to do dozens of times.
If someone had approached me like you, though, I would have told them where I live and that I would get it on the way back.
If being a neighbor wouldn’t be good enough for you, then I probably would have told you to buzz off and mind your own business as well.
I probably would have told you to SYBAU and call the cops on me if my explanation of being a member of the neighborhood and that I intended to get it on the way back down my usual walking route wasn’t good enough.
If I wasn’t with my wife and you weren’t with your kids I would probably have invited you to come make me, but I’m kind of an AH like you, so.
NTA but many people do this. As long as they pick it up on their way back it’s not a big issue. I have seen people do this on hikes. There are no trash cans anywhere. Carrying dog shit and holding onto the leash is cumbersome. It’s bagged and set down then on their way down they get it and toss it in the trash. So I guess I see both sides.
I didn’t know there where poop police
NTA they shouldn’t leave it
nta
in a park? where a child could get into it? or a stray/unattended animal? which would all call for a looooot worse clean up?
also its part of owning a dog. like scooping a box is part of owning a cat (unless you wanna train it to use a toilet)
When there isn’t a receptacle, you carry it until you find a receptacle. That isn’t difficult, and it’s just how it goes. NTA
NTA. Super uncool of them.
NTA, the truth is, most dog owners who do this don’t collect the bags on the way back.
NTA. These people saying y t a have never lived in a city. Those people were not coming back for the poop.
Source: the bags of dog poop I see lazily left around my urban neighborhood every day.
NTA . . . but . . . a friend of mine took her dog on a walk and the dog pooped on a strip of grass next to the street (not in a yard), this is considered public property in that city. My friend picked up the poop in a bag to carry it home to dispose of. The homeowner in front of that spot decided to make a big deal of it and threatened my friend, a confrontation resulted, he grabbed the poopy bag and began beating my friend with it, breaking her skin, poop got in the broken skin and she got a nasty infection.
My point is don’t get into confrontations. Sure, remind the person to pack out their poop, but leave it at that. You are not the police. There are a lot of crazies out there and you never know what could happen. What if they had a gun or a knife, or more likely had pepper spray and sprayed you?
NTA. I’m a dog owner and I HATE this shit – it makes people who don’t own dogs hate dogs, and gives them ammunition to advocate for excluding dogs from public spaces.
I don’t love packing around a sack of warm shit, either, but it’s my dog, therefore my shit and my responsibility. To make it less unpleasant, I pick it up in a poop baggie, seal that baggie into a reusable Ziplock bag to contain odors, and put the zip ziplock into a canvas pouch that can clip to my dog’s harness, the leash, or the outside of my backpack. I’ve also heard of people putting the full baggies into a Pringles can to seal the odor and make it squish proof so they can put it in their pack or purse.
Dealing with dogshit is gross, but it’s 100% the owner’s responsibility, and no one else should have to look at it, step in it, or throw out the baggie. It’s not their responsibility and contributes to thr public resenting dogs.
NTA
NTA – can you please give this seminar to my condo community? I am so tired of people not picking up after their dogs it is so nasty and they live here!
You sound like an asshole if your description is right. They are also assholes for leaving the poop. They will forget it
Not an AH for telling them to pick up their dog. But you don’t have to verbally attack them.
So I don’t leave my dogs poo bags and say I’m gonna “pick them up on the way back”, but if I did and you said that to me I would be pissed lol. The energy you brought will not ever give you the response you want, you will only get pushback. I wouldn’t be surprised if they left it on the way back out of spite lmao. If it fr makes you angry like that, take that energy and throw it away in your trash. Maybe they’ll feel bad who knows.
That being said when ppl leave poo bags in my yard I toss them in the main st so the cars run over them so take what I said w a grain of salt lol
NTA for calling them out, but YTA for the manner in which you did it in front of your kids.
Take their picture!
NTA. Take their pictures, a picture of the discarded baggie, and post on local Reddit, Facebook, and Nextdoor groups. Some people have to be shamed to change behavior.