Dog Poop Detail

Since back in the the US for two weeks now, I have been having many interesting conversations with people about the "differences in the details" of things between Europe and America, hence my impetus to initiate these blogs in the first place.

Today, while sitting outside at a coffeehouse having coffee with a friend from Santa Fe, one of those details came to light, albeit one that makes Americans more uncomfortable than many Europeans I have spoken with.

There were two policeman walking down Ft. Marcy street who happened upon a dog that was leased to one of the poles supports of the Santa Fean adobe portici that shelter the sidewalks from the elements, much like in Bologna, which is actually famous for its endless portici, but that is another story and another blog... Regardless, there was a dog tied up to the post. The policemen were asking everyone whose dog it was. Everyone assured them that the owner had literally just popped into the restroom and would be back soon.

The policemen were rather unmoved by such appeals, and waited it out for a couple of minutes, mildly scolding the woman who had left the dog tied up unattended. She seemed slightly put out, but went on her way.

My friend remarked that it is funny how laid back the Santa Fe police are for the most part, but often will choose a detail such as this to "make a statement" of sorts.

I then related a serious problem that had plagued northern Europe, and particularly Belgium, during vacation time in years past, namely, the abandonment of family pets by the side of the highway, chained up to literally die while the family heads south to escape to the sun in France or Spain for a couple of weeks of getting lobster-toned to insure a "good" vacation.

This practice escalated to such a level that a national campaign and hefty fines were levied on offenders, and apparently, it worked. I have not heard about this for a few years, but I also noticed something else, less people have dogs now in Belgium. I don't know if there is a connection, but I specifically remember many, many more dogs in the 1990's in Belgium, and specifically Antwerp, mainly because of the dog poop on the sidewalk. Cheech and Chong did a skit about dog poop on the sidewalks of Amsterdam many years ago, but it could have easily been "still smokin'" in Antwerp as well.

But, again, a major clean-up campaign, and fines and, well, less dogs. I have wondered if the fines and campaigns are directly responsible. What I find interesting about that though, is that it seems to be more effective to fine people than to appeal to a sense of ethics, but hopefully I am wrong about that, though, I wonder.