Hey Shiba: Don’t Pee on My Lawn
As a Shiba Inu owner who lives in the New York area, I do not have the good fortune to have a huge backyard or live in walking distance to a park. That means Kenji and I take 4 or 5 walks on a daily basis, the majority of which, are in front of people’s houses.
Both #1s and #2s end up on the front strip of grass that sits in front of suburban homes after the sidewalk. I clean up Kenji’s mess 100% of the time (OK, so maybe there was the one time I forgot a bag!).
The other morning I had a neighbor ask me to keep Kenji off “their” lawn. It was 6:15 in the morning and I was in no mood to explain to the person that in our town, that strip of grass is actually government property, it does not belong to the homeowner.
I have no interest in getting embroiled in a debate. And luckily, in this instance, the homeowner was relatively polite about it.
It initially pissed me off, but when I think about how many houses we pass on a daily basis, it is remarkable how few people complain.
I will respect his wishes and do my best to avoid his property. I will also mourn the fact that he is so concerned with his blades of dying autumn grass.
