I admit it: when I first owned a home in Seattle, before I got a dog, it bothered me when people let their dogs do their business in my yard.
At first the vexation was justified. When I bought the house, it had been vacant for awhile. Some dog walkers on their way to the park across the street allowed their dogs to poop on the lawn, but did not pick it up. As a result, the yard was full of dog feces, and it took many months to clean it. Even after that, I continued to find fresh dog poop on the grass from time to time.
One weekday morning soon after buying the house, I was up on the ladder cleaning the high windows above the front door. It was a typical gray and rainy Seattle October morning. A man walked by in a jacket zipped up to his nose and a hat pulled down to his eyes. He walked a large dog. He let the leash out a tad, remaining on the sidewalk as the dog entered my front yard and took a huge dump. The man looked this way and that, walked into the yard himself, picked up a leaf, placed it on top of the turds, and tapped the leaf lightly with his foot. Then he and his dog turned left, which meant they would soon be passing my sliding door off the dining room.
I scrambled down from the ladder and ran to the sliding door, opening it quickly. Me: “Good morning!” Man (mumbling): “Good morning.” Me: “It sure is a wet one this morning, huh?” Man: “Um, yeah.”
Me: “Did your dog just shit in my yard?” Man: “Um, no.” Me: “Uh, yeah he did – I saw it.” Man: “I cleaned it up.” Me: “No you didn’t! You put a leaf on it!” Man: “I am out of bags.” Me: “Well, what do you know – this is your lucky day! I have some bags. Wait just a moment.”
I gave the man a bag, and he cleaned up his dog’s mess.
As the years rolled on, it still bothered me when someone let his or her dog onto my lawn to do its business. On the other side of the sidewalk was a large, grassy parking strip which would have worked nicely, and it would have felt less invasive.
The grass itself was not the issue. In the spring in Seattle, lawns are lush and green. By the warmer summer months, they are brown. Seattleites do not water their lawns, and therefore there is no peer pressure to keep up with the Joneses. If a dog peed on my lawn I wasn’t concerned about yellow spots; it just felt rude to use the front lawn instead of the parking strip. But, as long as the poop was bagged and removed, I didn’t complain about it; I did not want to be one of those grass-obsessed insane people.
Then, Olive came into my life. I did my best to direct her to parking strips on our walks, but sometimes she pooped and peed in yards. I of course picked up the poop, but there was nothing I could really do about the pee. Just in case a neighbor might be concerned about yellow spots, I researched a supplement for dogs which will not turn grass yellow if a dog urinates on it. Then I thought better of it, not wanting to give Olive a pill for something as trifling as that.
Now, I am a part of the RV world, where dogs abound, but their elimination needs are treated like crimes. Every RV park seems to have a “dog run,” which I assumed at first was an off-leash area. In some parks it is, but not in all parks. But one thing is certain: leashed or unleashed, the “dog run” is where your dog is expected to “go.”
RV dog runs are pretty depressing places. There is rarely grass. Some are covered entirely in gravel. When it’s raining, expect mud. Olive hates them. So many competing smells are an overload for her. And, she will not do her business on gravel.
Here at Outdoor Resorts Palm Springs, there is also the issue of the dog run being some distance away from my rig. By the time Olive and I could walk to the dog run, she would already be finished!
But ORPS makes it clear that dogs are not welcome to eliminate anywhere other than the dog run. Stenciled to curbs and erected on signs throughout the park is the phrase, “This is not a dog run.” I find the phrase cranky and condescending.
I do my best to get Olive to go on the small grassy areas on either side of my RV. If that is not successful, I allow her on grass only in the “common areas” maintained by the park, or to be honest, at an empty campsite. Some owners have posted signs, and I obviously avoid them entirely.
We have it better here at ORPS than next door at Desert Shadows. Nellie’s prior owners stopped by for a visit recently and filled me in on the policies there. Dogs are allowed to walk only at their own campsite or at the dog run. Their feet may not touch the ground anywhere else in the park. This means dogs cannot be walked, even on a leash, around the park. Owners carry them in backpacks and baskets and purses, drive them in golf carts, and even push them in strollers around the park. As Tom put it, “All the dogs are handicapped.”
How fucking sad is that?
It sounds to me like the residents of Desert Shadows are the “get off my lawn,” “this ball is mine now,” old coots and codgers with tiny pebbles for hearts. I also wonder, why is everyone watering lawns, in the desert, in a state in one of the worst droughts in recorded history? Even public fountains are dry, but grass grows green at the RV parks.
When did our priorities get so screwed up?
This Post Has 11 Comments
When can you leave for Mexico??
Ed, I am spending a week in Las Vegas over New Year’s, a little less than a week in Yuma at the beginning of February, and I will be in Mexico February 7 through March 8.
You know I’m a dog lover, too, Tammy! This latest entry of yours makes me sad. Dogs are people, too! Like you, I don’t like seeing dog poop in my yard, especially if it’s not from one of mine. But dogs are dogs and like children, they don’t always follow the rules. They’re DOGS!!!!! It’s too bad you can’t stay away from RV parks like that, but it sounds like it’s way too common. Maybe when you’ve finished your current travels (if and when, right lol??), you could open your own pet-friendly RV park. I’m sure it would be a big hit!
I’ve been reading your blogs about the Bars on your way across “bardom” in Palm Springs, but this one is the funniest though it also shows how entitled and anal people get. The park I live in has a dog run and is probably the most unsanitary place in the area. The dogs do their thing the people walk through them and pick up all the leftovers on their shoes and then carry it home, walk across their carpet where it gets left in between the fibers. Not very sanitary. Having said that I don’t have another alternative for Fecal removal unless you can have a personal poop station at the RV site. Parks are very rule oriented and mine is no exception.
BTW, how do the animals get their exercise?
It appears to me that you are having way too much fun running around to the Bars in your area and I can’t wait for the next one!
Tammy I am a loss for words. Why even allow dogs if it is that strict. Could you see us trying to carry Rosalind? She is 70 lbs as of today!
ha ha No, I can’t imagine that! You would have to drive her in your car, or better yet, your golf cart! I’m so glad I’m not staying in that park.
Ha, I asked how you thought that it would go there with all the rules when you first arrived…. now I know. It really is too bad that there have to be so many signs that start with the word NO . I’ve been in many RV Parks and have experienced the same thing, though I’ve never heard of a place where the dogs can’t even walk. I find it hard to believe as so many RV’ers have pets. Oh well I always try to avoid places with so many rules and guess that I’ll have to continue to. thanks for the update.
Mitch, except for the dog issue, I really like it here at ORPS. Dogs are not allowed to walk next door at the other RV park. Here at ORPS, animals may be walked on a leash. The park is very well-maintained; they are always working on something. There are eight pools, 18 tennis courts, a beautiful golf course, coffee bar, and a decent Italian restaurant. The security shack is staffed 24/7. At my end of the park there is zero traffic noise. Other residents are quiet and polite. It is a 10-minute drive to downtown Palm Springs, four minutes to Interstate 10, and there are many restaurants and stores right outside the front gate. I would definitely return to ORPS despite the dog issue. When I come back from Mexico I want to spend one more week in Palm Springs, and ORPS prefers monthly customers. Therefore, I am staying at the Emerald Desert RV Park in Palm Desert. Prices are less expensive, but the park is certainly not as nice. Check that one out!
Hey Tammy:
Thanks for the feedback. the location sounds great. I look forward to your review of Emerald Desert, for sure.
I’m also looking forward to see how your Mexico endeavour goes, I’m totally excited to get that far south with my MoHo one day. Enjoy Vegas (what horrible news about the girl who drove into the crowds) and Yuma. I had to run the snow blower again to clear the drive UGH !!! keep that in mind if you think some evenings are a touch cool.
ha ha Okay Mitch, thanks for reminding me to count my blessings! By the way, I am going to Mexico with Baja Amigos, a Canadian company, if you’d like to look them up.
I have cockers, so I could care less if a puppy or 3 use my lawn. The owner just needs to pick up! Dog owners are sometimes plain old stupid. Putting a leaf on top??!! Really?? What a chump. I buy poop bags by the gross-Home Goods is a good place to get them cheaply!
You are nice: once I found out that my babies weren’t welcome to enjoy the park too, I’d have been emailing pics & a letter to the Water Resources Board! I believe in dogs being leashed, being doggy polite, being clean and well groomed. I don’t want angry, biting, filthy animals that are loose in an RV park. But every RVer that I know has animals in the rig, so come on!!
I’m curious-or nosy-have you gone boondocking with the animals?