Blue Baggies

I do not know you, and I am sure that you are overly concern about the environment. I presume that when you speak to your neighbors, you probably have an arsenal of powerful rhetoric always on the frontlines, ready to download your activist experience on those who are beginning to care for mother earth.  

People like you are straightforward and do not spend too much time on things that might be complicated, like bacteria’s lifespan and the microbiome where they thrive. I am confident that your dog is a superb companion, who keeps you safe and entertained, and that it protects your children against all odds.

But is it necessary for you to leave those blue baggies all over the trails for people who come behind you to enjoy? 

Tell me something, how come you have decided to leave them at spots where the views are so engaging? Are you trying for us to think about the repercussions of our actions? Is this some form of art statement? Is the juxtaposition behind those blue shinny baggies related to us needing to remember that our actions affect the environment? That each person alive is, in many ways, destroying the balance of the circle of life on planet earth? I am yearning for an honest answer, and I mean no disrespect. 

I understand that you are concern about the environment; this seems obvious since the baggies you use are biodegradable.

This helps me believe that at least you distinguish how fragile the equilibrium of our planet’s health is and how much it struggles to support all forms of life. 

It is lovely that you take the time to clean up after your dog: 

• Thank you for helping us avoid smelling its dietary habits.  
• Thank you for stopping that caca scent from impregnating the already masked air we breathe. Especially now, when we have completely forgotten the hours we sat through plenty of basic biology and environmental classes in college and highschool. I clearly remember teachers stating how significantly important it is for the human body to breathe regular, everyday air, especially in THE WOODS. It is still a mistery to me the amount of people wearing masks in the forest. But we will leave this topic for another time.  
• Thank you for the colorful bonus to my daily walks on such beautiful redwoods. 
• Thank you for giving me the chance to explain to my kids that we have clean concerned citizens as neighbors. 

I have hiked in different states, in plenty of National and State Parks, and in a bunch of other countries, and i have never seen anything like this. Isn’t it better to pick the baggies and take them with you? And, are you really picking them up after you finish hiking? I hope you are trying to avoid something terrible from spreading. But remember that you are also incurring in a hundred other wrongs. Dog owners in most places I have visited pick up after themselves. We can indeed see a little baggie here and there but nothing close to what I have seen in California. 

I understand that the homeless situation is getting out of hand, and neighborhoods are invaded by the less fortunate. Local parks have turned into permanent campgrounds. I know that there are no platforms where they can find some sort of permanent relief, where they can be guided out of such circumstances. I can clearly see that the infrastructures that could alleviate this situation do not have enough funding. That there are not enough social workers to make sure those without home regain the power to be self-sufficient. This apparent dilemma is probably a means to increase taxes and create social disruptions so that unseen forces gain financial benefits.

I understand that maybe you are getting used to seeing bundles of bags all over cities like San Francisco, and Oakland, or the whole United States for that matter. But I do not see the point of turning a beautiful hike on your own blue baggie heaven.  

And why always in the middle of the way? The more I think about this, the more I reach one conclusion. That you are trying to stop E. coli, worms, Giardia, and all kinds of fecal bacteria dogs might carry with them from spreading. But isn’t there another way for you to deal with this? Why must you insist on leaving all these baggies all over the place? Don’t these bags under the heat increase the productions of those bacteria? Isn’t that a severe bomb waiting to infect everything around us? 

I do not have a dog, but I am sure there must be another way to deal with this. Can you bury them deep enough? IN YOUR YARD? Your choice to have a lovely animal in your house, protecting, comforting, and entertaining you was YOUR CHOICE. I do not have to pick up after you. It is getting a little tiresome explaining your actions to my children.

The book “The one hundred and two reasons why dog owners behave the way they do” hasn’t been published yet.

Picking up those little baggies was fun initially, but it is not anymore. So please stop leaving those blue, red, green, and shiny orange baggies all over the trails. Keep them to yourself, pollute your visual horizon as you like, but find ways to deal with this differently. We do not need to pick after you and your lovely dog. After all, it is not its fault. Our animals reflect who we are the same way our actions paint a clear picture of who we indeed are. I was wondering if there are little blue baggies hanging from the lower branches of trees at your doorsteps, or by the rocks on the pond in your beautiful garden. Probably not.