Visual Description: Cranky old biddy.
ASCEE = CEASE, TVEEN = EVENT, EPPPRE = PEPPER, SLUEST = TUSSLE — Giving us: EEEVPPTE
Clue/Question: Owners not cleaning up after their dogs was her – – –
Answer: PET PEEVE
(Something tells me a peeve is the only kind of pet she’s ever had. There is this general hysteria that dog poop is the most toxic thing in the world. Clearly it’s not. Pooper scooper laws make all the sense in the world . . . in urban areas, and in business districts. You have so many pedestrians, walking the sidewalks and crossing the streets. Poop land mines can cause slip and fall accidents, and concrete and asphalt cannot absorb/incorporate it – like the ground can – so it doesn’t really go away, except on the bottoms of shoes and tires. And, of course, it draws flies, etc., etc. Yes, urban areas definitely need pooper scooper laws!
Are they really needed in suburban, and even some rural, areas though? Dog poop, like just about every other poop in the world, is nature’s fertilizer. It puts nutrients back into the ground. Is it as beneficial as cow, or horse, or goat, etc. poop? Probably not. But, it’s definitely not toxic. There are/were even some cultures that use/d human poop as fertilizer. Is our poop any better than dog doo? Unlikely. After all, we’re both omnivores. The whole thing about suburban pooper scooper laws is that they stemmed from well-meaning, transplanted urbanites.
The suburbanites of the past were more accepting, and philosophical, about dog doo. If you stepped in it you’d go to the curb and scrape it off your shoe. If you were wearing sneakers, or anything with a tread, you had to find a twig to dig it out. A mild annoyance? Sure, but hardly the end of the world. You did have the occasional egomaniac, who wanted their manicured lawn to be pristine, but they were the kind that everyone else made fun of, behind their backs. Nowadays, with suburban properties averaging between 1/2 and a full acre, you hardly ever see anyone out on their lawn anyway. Most hire landscapers to cut the grass, and keep everything tidy. They might use a small area in their back yard, for barbecuing and recreation, but the rest is pretty much just for show.
But, the newer, more ridiculous, angle that pooper scooper proponents try to push is the “health issue”. They try to say that it’s polluting the ground water. Poppycock! Dog doo is no worse than the cat scat, the deer droppings, or the raccoon, opossum, fox, coyote, etc., etc. poop that . . . no one has any control over. And, don’t forget that the municipal, and commercial, water systems have what they call “allowable limits” of human waste and chemical runoff. Much more of a health threat than any one animal’s excrement.
I grew up in suburbia, but spent a lot of time in the country with my grand parents. I lived in New York City and Jersey City for most of my 20’s. My semi-rural suburbia life, of the last 30 something years, has seen the disappearance of the rural aspect. But, surprisingly, we’re seeing more wildlife than ever. We’ve taken away so much of their habitat that now they have to share it with us. Any time I’m working in my yard – yes, I’m an anachronism – I almost always step in some deer droppings. Occasionally, coyote poop, or my neighbor’s dog’s. It makes absolutely no sense to get upset about it. It’s all part of the cycle of life. The real crime is the litter of human . . . laziness. Especially plastic, but also aluminum and glass. The ground is not going to absorb that man-made crap. Glass can break, and cut feet and paws. And, it can puncture tires. Only people of low intelligence and low self-respect litter. They are what should be scooped up in our society.
Jumble? Oh, yeah. No new clue words today. But, all the jumbles came up as new. No toughies today. The answer letter layout was a decent eight letter jumble. It was hard to disguise today’s final answer though.
Cute cartoon. That could be Jeff, I suppose. It looks like his dog could use a drink. Be well and do good, friends.) — YUR
PS. The top photo is not dog doo! It’s hedgehog feces! Poop is poop, folks. — YUR
Images courtesy of Google, and Nature Picture Library.
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