Recently, Fay Joseph Olsen sued the city of West Liberty for $1 million because his neighbor’s dog pooped in his yard. Well, okay, it’s a bit more involved than that.
In 2020, Olsen, a self-employed truck driver, complained to the city that his neighbor, who works for West Liberty, allowed “excessive amounts of dog poop” to accumulate in his, as well as Olsen’s yard. In addition, Olsen asserted the neighbor hosted late night parties with loud music, profanity and “men peeing towards my yard”. (Sounds like the neighbor needed to keep his dog and his friends on a short leash.)
A couple of weeks after he filed his complaint, Olsen received 17 citations from the city about trash in his yard and alleging he was conducting a business out of his home. Coincidence? Olsen didn’t think so.
The attorney for West Liberty quickly dismissed 13 of the citations and later Magistrate John Wunder tossed out the remaining four, observing that Olsen had a “nice but busy backyard” that showed “no significant evidence” of trash. The judge did not weigh in on whether the citations had been motivated by revenge.
A million dollars might seem like a lot of compensation for some strange dog doo on your lawn. But the whole business of managing your dog’s business is a never-ending burden for urban dog owners. For $18, Walmart will sell you what looks like a three-foot-long, hand-operated steam shovel for picking up your dog’s excrement. But the contraption is too big and awkward to lug around on dog walks. And you still have to clean it. Amazon sells a package of 270 bags, complete with a dispenser and a leash for $11.70. The bags are lavender-scented (as if that would make a difference). They are also available in cucumber scent and Brazilian mango. Yum.
There are services like 4 Pawz Poo Scoopin’ that will clean your yard of dog waste for about fifty bucks a month. Doggy Doo Pooper Scooper of Marion charges $30/month for one dog and $39 for two dogs. I couldn’t see if they charge extra for big dogs. Our 70-pound greyhound eats four cups of food a day and poops five cups. I don’t know how he does it.
It seems to me that there is no elegant way to clean up after your dog while on a walk. You have to slip a bag over your hand and pick it up with your fingers. And then you have to carry the bag with you until you get home, as other pedestrians look at you with disgust or cross the street to get away from you.
Some dogs will make your job easier and eat their own poo. Nobody really knows what they like about that. Maybe those advertisers who claim their dog food “tastes great” could give us the benefit of their experience.
Perhaps Mr. Olsen doesn’t deserve a million dollars for the way his neighbor and West Liberty treated him. But as punishment, the city should have to clean every bit of dog doo from his lawn and make his yard smell like Brazilian mango.