Every Wednesday morning during summer I take my dog for a run on our local dog beach. It must be good for him as he sleeps well after it.
Dog beaches can show the dark side of responsible dog ownership. For whatever reason not every dog land mine is picked up and placed in the bins provided.
When I see the forgotten spoils, I think that the owner just didn’t see the dog depositing last night's dinner, hence why it was left as a reminder.
Most dog owners are very vigilant and wrap up the offending compost, but rather than carrying and placing it in the bin, they leave it as a marker and pick it up on the way back.
One morning I was sharing the beach with a fellow runner and he veered from the water's edge, swooped down on a pre-packaged land mine, ran to the bin and slam dunked the excrement.
“Good on you mate”, I thought to myself.
Then within a matter of minutes, he repeated the procedure.
Wow, his dog was pretty full.
When I arrived at the dog beach limit, the responsible owner was stretching. But something was missing? The dog.
He wasn’t a dog sharer. He was a beach carer. He saw the rubbish and took it upon himself to put it in the bin.
I asked him why he did this.
He replied, “What you walk past is the standard you accept.”
So true.
Our standards and values should not be compromised. Turned on and off as they suit us. Sometimes effort is required to maintain our beliefs.
And in return, it makes for a better shared world.
Next Wednesday, I to will keep an eye out for the pre-packaged land mines.
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