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(Jersey City, NJ) — During a routine afternoon walk last week with my favorite child Bailey (she’s a dog), I noticed someone from across the park watching my every move. The stare from the stranger grew even more intense when Bailey stopped to do her business. I reached down, like I always do with plastic bag in hand and cleaned up what Bailey left behind. Then as I stood back up and walked towards a trashcan, I noticed the stare stopped and the man kept walking.
There is a battle over dog poop going on in just about every community across America right now. Millions of Americans, while stuck at home during the pandemic adopted dogs to keep them company. Those dogs need a place to relieve themselves and thus is the battle over where that should happen and how polite dog owners need to be.
In my neighborhood there are plenty of signs that sit in front of stoops and porches that politely ask dog owners to keep on walking and have their dogs do their business elsewhere. I do always move on with Bailey, but I have watched as lots of my fellow canine owners ignore the signs. I have also witnessed some pretty intense battles between dog owners who just don’t care, and homeowners lying in wait for someone to violate their front walk. None of those verbal battles have turned violent, but there are many stories of such interactions that have. So what kind of legal protection do dog owners have and what rights can homeowners expect?
New Jersey does have an ordinance that relates to picking up after your dog. It reads, “All pet owners and keepers are required to immediately and properly dispose of their pet’s solid waste deposited on any property, public or private, not owned or possessed by that person.”
Individual towns have their own laws regarding picking up poop. In Passaic, the fine for not cleaning up after a dog can go as high as $2,000. In tony Franklin Lakes a ticket could set dog owners back $1,000. Other towns such as Englewood try to guilt dog owners in to being responsible by detailing how poop left behind can end up flowing into storm drains and then into drinking water.
I stopped a Jersey City cop to ask him if he had ever handed a ticket to someone who failed to pick up after their dog. He smiled and said “I think there are more important things for me to patrol here” I got the same reaction when I checked in with police departments in nearby Weehawken and Union City.
So for now the battle over dog poop will rage on and homeowners and dog owners will have to find the best way to resolve it on their own.
