RSS FeedA Tree(Box) Grows In PQ
(Ed. Note: Dog agreed to be photographed on condition of anonymity)
The National Mall aside, the Penn Quarter doesn’t really have any parks. There is green space around the Building Museum and the old Carnegie Library, but there’s not much else; Except for the many, often professionally manicured, tree boxes.
What’s a dog owner to do? Dogs have to do their business somewhere, and they can’t go to the bathroom on command in a specific spot. But we all like pretty public space and well kept tree boxes certainly add something to the neighborhood.
This isn’t a question of picking up after your dog, all dog owners should do this. People who don’t pick up after their dogs make everyone angry, owners & non-owners alike. We’re wondering if it’s ok for dogs to use tree boxes as bathrooms? Only the unkempt ones? Are tree boxes public property?
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Comments
Our dog goes to a neighborhood spot, and it sickens me to see how many people do not pick up after their dogs. It’s a real problem. Our dog got sick last week, and the likely culprit according to the vet, was another sick dog who’s owner didn’t pick up after it. YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE.
Anyway, I think tree boxes are ok – especially the ones that aren’t beautifully manicured. We try to keep our dog to the ones that aren’t all that fancy. And we always pick up.
Maybe we can borrow the “scoop your poop” dog from Dupont for a public service campaign.
I think all tree boxes are good for pooping, as long as you pick it up and there’s no risk of stomping on flowers, etc.
For #1, I would say only the unkempt boxes, since sometimes the chemicals in #1 can kill grass, etc.
I did notice near Teasism, there is a “No Dog” sign in a tree box – in that case, someone cared enough to put up a sign so I keep away from it.
I think it would be better for the dogs to go to the bathroom on the curb of the street than the tree boxes. Of course, still clean it up, but that way you don’t kill the plants in the tree-box.
I used to live in NYC and there are signs everywhere saying “curb your dog”
Some of that poo may not be from dogs, but from the homeless or crackheads that use the neighborhood as a dumping ground.
Most dogs will not poo on concrete unless they cannot hold it any longer. They will stop at the first patch of green despite best efforts by owners. Clean up should be mandatory and for those that do not, and are caught, the dogs should be confiscated and given up for adoption, and some type of severe tax penalty assessed against the owner’s property – perhaps $1,000. Neighbors can take pictures of the crime as it occurs to assist in catching these people. SHAME on those who know who you are!
They seem to have no problem taking a crap on concrete in NYC… maybe those are special dogs. Agreed would be better to poo on the concrete (assuming it is cleaned up).
My beef is less dogs using the box than kicking up stuff with their hind legs when finished. Most owners pick up, but most owners also ignore this nuissance. Even if not decorated with flowers (but weeded & swept), it often becomes a mess which requires the owner’s attention.
Would’t pooping on concrete leave an unpleasant residue? Think about what the sidewalks would look (and smell) like if all the dogs in DC pooped on concrete, even if every owner cleaned up the mess. We’d be praying for rain every day.
A plastic bag over hand simply can’t get up all the residue from a hard surface like concrete.
Maybe like food, culture, and sophistication, NYC dogs are just plain better than DC dogs when it comes to pooping on concrete.
The Adams Morgan yahoo group had a debate about this 1-2 years ago…I don’t remember what the conclusion was (if one was even reached)..ok..it seems that two people believe it is public property. See Message #8138, 8123.
One person write: “I also checked with the city and I learned that I am legally responsible for carring for the planter area at the curb in front of my house even though it is public property.”
Oh…but this had more to do with the tree boxes in front of people’s houses. I guess you are asking about the boxes on the mall/around museums…
Love the dogs. Keeps eyes and ears from the neighborhood on the street. Noone reports more neighborhood crime to MPD than the dog walkers. And the dog walkers in the area know each other which creates a sense of community in a newly developing area. There is no excuse to not clean up after yourself but don’t let the bad apples taint your view of the majority of extremely responsible pet owners.
#15, I think you hit on the reason this topic doesn’t really interest many people in PQ: We’re mostly condo dwellers. In other neighborhoods in the city, perhaps especially those with block after block of row houses, many owners take care of the tree box directly in front of their house. Then when a dog goes to the bathroom in said box, even if it’s cleaned up, it really angers some owners.
Most of us in Condo buildings are not keeping up the tree box in front of our building, so we don’t care what people or animals do or leave in them.
I’ve also noticed that, during milder weather at least, numerous people let their dogs run free, without a leash, in the grassy area just north of the navy memorial, between the east and west.
my dog told me that he “could” poop on the concrete if he really wanted to, but he prefers having some loose dirt or soft grass under his feet while doing the deed. It helps him relax and compensates for the lack of privacy and suitable reading material generally available on the sidewalk or park.
Leave the dogs alone, they can’t help it if their owners are shameless. The homeless leave larger and stinkier piles of poop, they don’t use the concrete and they don’t carry around plastic bags to pick up after themselves.
the dogs poo-ing in tree boxes… (jeez its early for poo talk)….isnt reallly a problem..as long as it gets picked up i think it is only a problem when they tinkle…cause…it kinda kills lots of plants… so the real challenge for me has always been to find a good tinkle spot for pups…i know a few..but like the above commenter…im keeping em secret!! lol
xoxo
Love the early morning “scat chat.” So long as someone picks it up, I don’t really care where the dog takes a dump. It’s still better than the “mad pooper” that used to cruise the neighborhood a few years back. You’d walk down the sidewalk and find a big pile of human waste between a pair of parked cars. Then, one day, I actually spotted the guy dropping trou between a couple of cars near MLK Library. Pretty shameless. Guys in suits walking past, families, everything, and there’s this guy squatting and doing his business.
i caught the “mad pooper” once as well!!!
ewwww…. and he occasionally visited my doorstep… but ..umm… he was to schizophrenic looking for me to chastise…
xoxo
Dog pee is full of acidic nitrogen compounds. Nitrogen’s a fertilizer, so it should be good for plants and trees, right? Sure – in tiny doses. But regular squirts of dog pee WILL kill trees. It happens regularly. So I say, find someplace else for the dog to pee. Like a litter box.
#30-31, I’m no tree surgeon, dog urine may very well kill trees,(although it seems like every tree in Kalorama would be dead if dog urine were that toxic) but take a look at the last item on that page which states that chemical de-icing salt is “exceedingly lethal to trees.”
Seems like our DC trees, especially those downtown, get doused with chemical salt several times a winter.
I guess NY’s dogs are smarter than ours (their dogs will poop on concrete) but our trees can kick their trees butts any day of the week.
Does squirrel pee kill trees too???? Please people let’s have common sense.
I actually stopped the mad pooper from dropping trou the other day. I yelled “Hey you!!” and waved my finger. I told him to pull his pants up and start behaving. He did it but told me he was an inspector from DC while he waved his veterans ID at me.
The dogs and dog owners using the NPS Reservations on Mass. Ave. have gone a long way toward reducing the criminal activity in and around those “parks.” Go dog owners!!!
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The dog challenge is an ever-changing battle, as more and more slivers of grass are taken away by developers and new construction. My pup has a favorite spot at a newly discovered patch of grass (I prefer not to divulge the location.)
Flower boxes are another option — as long as you leave it as you find it.
I ALWAYS pick up after him — something I see others do not do (If I caught them in the act, they would get an earful — unfortunately, I only see the evidence.)
Not picking up is SELFISH and UNNEIGHBORLY. You know who you are.