On city life.

This writing dog is an urbanite. I live close to downtown St. Paul on a hill named for the Cathedral at the eastern end of my street. Life is good here. My humans and I have wonderful neighbors who are always ready with a kind word and a scratch (for me – my humans aren’t so much for being scratched.) At this writing, summer is in full bloom and my street is all abustle with shoppers, restaurant diners, and pet owners walking their dogs in the beautiful weather.

When I am out for my walks, I marvel at the variety of sites and sounds in this area we call Selby/Dale. Of course, being a scent hound, my nose is ever to the grindstone of tracking things that smell good to me. Lately, this includes:

1) Rabbits: LOVE them and would like to bring one home as a toy – unfortunately, am never allowed close enough to capture
2) Squirrels: DO NOT love them but do believe they deserve to be terrorized – am happy to do my part
3) Food wrappers and other inanimate objects (I’m talking about litter, people): smell FANTASTIC – I use these as a way to expand my culinary horizons

While I enjoy them immensely, each of these olfactory treats has become a neighborhood pest in its own right. Squirrels and rabbits are digging up gardens as the litter de-beautifies my otherwise glorious neighborhood.

Being an environmental advocate (I strongly believe we should have an environment), I did some research on the effects of litter. At the risk of sounding Al Goresque, I invite you to check out this information from the California waste management bulletin:

– A glass bottle takes approximately 1 million years to decompose
– An aluminum can takes 200 – 500 years
– A cigarette butt takes 2 to 5 years

Sorry to be harsh, but I blame you humans for this. I do not eat fast food, smoke, or drink beer – so I know the trash ain’t mine. What I do know is that it’s not good for me, my canine counterparts, or my human neighbors.

For those of you who are old enough to remember, I remind you of a TV public service announcement that debuted on Earth Day, 1971. Remember Native American actor Chief Iron Eyes Cody and his famous teardrop? The tagline read: "People Start Pollution. People can stop it." It was memorable, it was manipulative, and, it was repeated in 1998. The new headline, “Back By Popular Neglect” brought a strong message about litter prevention and individual responsibility. (If you are not old enough to remember this, ask anyone over the age of 40 – the famous teardrop was guilted into our long term memory.)

Please people – clean up. When you’re out and see trash just pick one thing up and put it in the nearest trash can. It does wonders for your waistline and builds all kinds of lovely karma. Whether or not it is your mess, I ask you to think about keeping me safe, giving yourself something beautiful to look at – and preserving our neighborhood pride.

Until next time, I’m Selby and I never want to see that TV commercial again. See you on the Avenue.