Andrew J. Lederer

my friend says it's 'cause when he was a puppy, his owner didn't want to pick up after him and kept him in motion as he shat.

all i know is, i don't even like the idea of feeling warm dog crap on the other side of a plastic bag -- to have to follow a trail of it only serves to heighten and extend the ordeal. (and don't get me started about non-solid excrement. how do you even clean that up?)

time was -- when i watched a different friend's dogs in l.a. -- i didn't clean up after them, so disgusted was i by the notion of coming into any kind of contact with their waste.

but that was l.a. -- nobody walks there. this time 'round -- in new york city -- my sense of responsibility to my fellow man prevailed.

also, it was live earth weekend. i owed it to al gore to be a good citizen.

but from an ecological perspective, wouldn't it be more responsible to leave the biodegradable and nutrient-rich fecal matter where it lands and not use an environment-destroying plastic bag?

attention green movement: watch out for your shoes.