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April 7, 2011

Dog poop on sidewalks.

Every day I walk to school I look for poop.  Dog poop on the sidewalk here in Spain is as common as an oil stain in a parking lot.  It is so insanely common that it has become a ritual for me to dodge as many poop piles as possible on my daily walks to work and back. You're probably thinking why is there so much crap on the sidewalk?  Good question, I have three theories for this one.

Number one, the lack of grass.  There are so many dogs in this little town of Motril, some with owners some wondering the streets, sniffing and doing their business like all dogs do.  Except here there are  not enough grassy spots for these little scoundrels to relieve themselves on.  Ok, maybe there are a few places, but the important word here is -few. 

Number two, they love there dogs here.   The Spaniards have a leash in one hand and their newspaper in the other. They take their dogs everywhere including the tapa bars if the owners allows it.  Since backyards don't exist, walking their dogs in the city streets is the next best thing.  Living in small apartments without backyards doesn't stop these dog lovers from having a mans best friend.

Number three, it is totally acceptable to let your dog poop on a busy sidewalk and not pick it up. Not kidding! And it's not just on the sidewalks.  It's true, I have found dog poop and pee inside the apartment corridor and even in the elevator.  How do you let your dog do its business in an elevator and not pick it up?  Come on people!  What the hell is wrong with you?  I have seen only one pet waste station here in Motril and every time I pass it, it's empty, no baggies just some gum and cigarette butts inside the little bin. Picking up the poop here is not a priority I suppose.

This poop problem must not bother them.  I can count on both hands how many times I have stepped in a pile of shit here in Spain. Sometimes I get lucky and sometimes the poo is so fresh I wish a power washer would fall out of the sky for me.

I even thought about making a spray paint stencil saying "Clean la Caca!" to tag some walls here and there since tagging is so popular in Spain.  But I didn't.  Should have though!  Clean la Caca campaign might have looked good on my resume, right?

Poop begone doesn't exist but I have lived here long enough to learn how to jump over the multitude of brown sidewalk paint a.k.a. POOP!!!!!!

6 comments:

  1. Ha ha ha!!! I DO sympathize with you. We were there only a week or so, and I stepped in it twice. I learned quickly that lifting one's eyes from the ground is a BIG mistake. After I stepped in a fresh, very slippery pile in Nerja, and had a British woman admonish me for trying to wipe it off ON THE SIDEWALK, (funny, that's where the poo was), I wiped it off on the little patch of weeds by the road. When we arrived at the beach, I rubbed my shoes in the sand and the water to get it off. I did learn to look about 50-75 feet in front of me when we walked so that I could look at the surroundings w/o stepping in poo again.

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  2. Dawn I love this!!!!! Just proves how much poop there is here in Spain!

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  3. Your aticle is too soft. Why should dogs be allowed to poop in the grass areas anyway?!! In Spain it is LEGAL to let your dog poop in grass areas, or around trees etc and NOT pick it up.

    It is disgusting. Even children play areas with signs saying "No Dogs" there is dog poo! Even in phamacy the owners bring their dogs in. Streets are stained with poo and wee, everywhere.

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  4. The things is the Spanish don't seem to mind. Although there is a minority which are sick of it as well;
    http://valenciaesuncagadero.blogspot.com.es/
    Above blog in Spanish.

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  5. El Gastor [close to Ronda] is a pueblo blanco of less than 2000 souls and about the same number of dogs. Dog 'caca' is everywhere and makes a beauty spot [Balcon de los pueblos blanco...] into a a disgusting open sewer.
    Sad!
    Strange thing is that if humans emptied their bowels on the calle there would be a public outcry... Go figure.

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  6. hahha just found this, we ALWAYS comment on the amount of dog poop in Spain, its EVERYWHERE, and in the heat its stinks! we actually see people walking their pooches and they don't bother picking up THEIR dogs mess!, Spain need to address this problem, i love my annual visit to Spain but the poo.... awful,.

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