Photo credit: jjsawrey

Last night, my husband and I were in the car headed to an event. As we were waiting at a red light, I happened to look to my right and saw a couple walking their English bulldog. The bulldog was on a leash and seemed to be checking out the grass while his owners patiently waited on the sidewalk. I checked to see if the light turned green and it hadn’t so I turned back to watch the bulldog.

As I was watching, the bulldog finished sniffing the grass and made his squat move, it was time to do the deed. The husband of the couple also noticed this stance and rushed over with a blue plastic bag in hand. He then proceeded to squat down behind the bulldog with the plastic bag stretched open and held it in the catching position under the bulldog’s butt.

Then the light turned green and we were off. This is the conversation that followed:

ME: Did you see that? Was that guy about to catch his dog’s poop in a bag?
HUSBAND: Yes, that’s definitely what was happening.
ME: I’ve never seen a dog owner do that before.
HUSBAND: Me neither.
ME: That was awesome.

There are a few reasons why this dog owner deserves a shout out. First, he picks up his dog’s poop, which prevents it from washing down storm drains and straight to the ocean during the next rain. Second, he saves many pedestrians the trouble of accidentally stepping in it. Third, by not even letting it hit the ground, there’s no possibility of any dog poop being missed. If anything is still stuck to the grass, it can still stick to your shoe. Fourth, he is risking getting pooped on to do the right thing. Hooray for this amazing bulldog owner!

If more dog owners out there can figure out how to catch their dog’s poop in a bag, I say kudos to you! The oceans and pedestrians everywhere thank you.