Why I despise most pet owners

Other appropriate titles could have been "#1 reason for moving into a new condo" and out of the community we were in, or "irresponsibility". But the punchline remains the same. On my way out the door this morning, I needed to take Betsy out because both Amanda and I had long days ahead of us and we were in a hurry. Keeping in mind that this is about 5.30 am, picture it still dark outside as I put on my shoes, turn the corner, stand there and walk back inside after Betsy has finished peeing and refuses to do any serious business because she's nervous whenever there's another dog around.

Ten steps, max, but 10% of those landed me into a pile of dog poop, literally. I came back inside, let Betsy loose, proceeded to get her fed before we left. I had checked my shoes before walking across the carpet because I almost never even leave my shoes on, but they were dry and I didn't see the brown spot smoothed into the sole of my left shoe. Needless to say, I quickly discovered my error (and later also found out that Betsy had happened into the same pile) when brown footprints rapidly appeared out of nowhere. It would figure, right when we're in a hurry, early in the morning, when I least want it, and when I'm leaving Amanda for the week, I dump this on her too. I felt horrible and rushed to clean my shoe off as Amanda set to the hard task of cleaning up the carpet.

Resolve works wonders, for those of you who have never tried the product. It has gotten me out of trouble with my former clean-freak roommate when I tracked mud through the house, removed chocolate from our new apartment and even now taken both urine and dog dirt out of the carpet. Try it, it's fantastic. But it doesn't make the job any more fun and also didn't relieve the anger that I felt at this point towards my fellow community members.

In case you haven't heard, we got a notice demanding we get rid of some dead flowers in a basket beside our door, when the neighbor beside us left garbage out on his back porch so long the varmint tore into it (and it was all over the grass when we got the flower notice). Then just yesterday, our other neighbors pulled some hooligans on their move-out, parking their truck and trailer right up on the law and walkway so they wouldn't have to walk the extra 30 ft every trip to the road. So it's already ridiculous in our neighborhood but the worst thing is pet ownership.

I don't care if you're too rich, too prissy, too grossed out, too engrossed in your texting, too distracted to remember you own a dog, too hungry to bother going out with your dog, too cheap to even buy trash bags, or too stupid to really believe you'll come back and pick it up later. Nobody likes stepping in dog feces and if I could figure out whose dogs were leaving it, I would wrap it in a Christmas box and leave it on their porch. Even though none of you will ever read this, I despise you for whatever excuse you use to justify in the back of your head any exceptions to the social code of clean-up that might (and don't) apply to you.

And this is my number one reason why I despise pet owners. Did you know that nearly 8 million cats and dogs are in need of adoption every year? This number alone signifies the true root of this problem. Everyone wants an animal, a pet, whether it be a turtle or a chicken, cat or dog. But as soon as push comes to shove, very few people think through their actions and instead the pet finds itself in a situation where nobody cares for it. This lack of care and follow-through can be as simple a leaving it crated up all day or neglecting to provide it food and water. If you can't care for an animal in a way in which provides it a reasonable quality of life, then don't get the animal in the first place. And lack of follow-through for animal care extends to simple responsibilities such as cleaning up after pet messes in a community. Your pet defecates, the same as a human. If you can't teach it to use the toilet like your kids, then change its dang diaper like your babies'.

About time

Somewhere there's picture of me and some of my friends at a protest in 2005 at the Supreme Court in Washington DC. Holding a sign and on camera during a press conference, we were protesting the holding of Guantanamo Bay prisoners without trial for what then already seemed like forever in the "War on Terror". Now, I'm no hippie, but I do think it's terrible to leave people forever in prison without even giving them the right to trial. That's one of the principles in this country. Well, they have finally finished with the first trial of a Gitmo prisoner. Finally.

Also some fascinating things to me in the news today, courtesy of BBC. Of interest to me was this video on the Gothic pilgrimage site in England. And the woman with the uncontrollable hand.

Medal of Honor

And no, I'm not talking about the Xbox game. Seriously, things like this get me really excited and I'm proud of this guy who I don't even know for both his bravery, and his public humility. It's rare to see both at the same time.

Coming shortly after Veteran's Day, this man's humble actions of bravery should be applauded by veterans all over. It's not so much that this one man was unique, but more impressive that he isn't unique among our armed forces. With so many of our older veterans leaving this world so rapidly now, it's a nice reminder that there is still a new generation of men and women willing to sacrifice their lives, whether it be just their time of service, their permanent functionality in society or their existence in order for us to live the life we have. As I always said to the kids I led around the DC monuments, let this serve as continuous inspiration to work hard, be honest, respect others and serve our communities in the same selfless manner, in the hope that our efforts will leave a better world for our children and the children of others.