The dog poop dilemma

Or, perhaps I should use the more generic "Pet poop dilemma." Dogs, cats, bunnies, ferrets. They all poop. (Yes, I know, everybody poops.) And as a good environmentalist, what do you do with the poop?

Back when I was a kid in the late '60s early/'70s we had a big back yard with English ivy down the side of the yard. That's where the dogs pooped. We didn't even train them -- they just kind of knew to go over there and keep the rest of the yard clean for us kids. And the cats, well I don't know where they went, but we sure didn't have a litter box.

But now I live within the city limits, so the 2 cats are strictly indoor, and the dog can't just poop in the yard. A rather nasty fact about rats is that they just love dog poop. Ugh.

So when I walk the dog, I responsibly clean up after him when he poops in one of his favorite spots in the neighborhood, as well as when he poops in the middle of the yard. And thus begins the dilemma: What to do with the poop?

Where I live, the trash goes to a landfill. I try to be especially mindful of what I throw in the trashcan, because it's going to go sit in that landfill. So although those newspaper bags are seemingly perfect for picking up poop, when I toss that bag in the trash can it's now organic materials encased in plastic, and will take decades to break down. I've also tried using poop bags that are made out of gluten so they will break down, but the trash guys won't deal with those if they're in the big can by themselves -- they have to go into the larger kitchen trash bag when that goes out. So again, the decomposable material is wrapped in plastic.

I have read about these "Doggie Dooley" things that you put in the back yard to decompose the poop, but I don't know anyone who has one, and they're not cheap. If you use one, please let me know. I'd be curious to know what you think.

Meantime, I try to "make up" for our poop wherever I can, taking home all my lunch recyclables from work, bringing home beer bottles from a party where the hosts don't recycle (gasp!).

But the poop. What to do with the poop?

I believe in dog

And I think you do, too. I'm fortunate in that a co-worker of mine spends many hours helping out with the local SPCA -- the foster pups she often brings to work with her have gotten me through many a rough day. So I'm pleased to be able to let all you dog lovers out there know about a great way to help dog rescue programs around the country -- and get some pretty cool dog paraphernalia. Because goodness knows, our dogs just don't have enough "stuff," do they?

For the month of June, I Believe in Dog will donate 40 percent of the profit from every purchase to the Prince George's County (MD) SPCA. Yes, 40 percent! Each month, the proceeds are donated to a different dog rescue group around the country. Other recipients have included FOR Greyhounds, Fort Collins, CO; Mid Atlantic Great Dane Rescue League; Husky Haven, Inc., Houston TX; Collie Rescue, Inc., Chantilly, VA; Westie rescue, Inc., Bluemont, VA; Duchess County SPCA, Hyde Park, NY. Here's the complete list of recipients.

So, check out I Believe in Dog, and get your 4-footed canine best-friend/co-worker/ companion/ protector/hoovering beast of burden something special today -- and help other dogs in need. Fritz (a former SPCA dog himself) highly endorses this good cause!

Quick! Somebody call the Humane Society! He's taken a hostage!

President Bush waves after arriving at TSTC airfield in Waco, Texas Monday, Aug. 13, 2007, to start his summer vacation at his ranch near Crawford Texas. (AP Photo/Rod Aydelotte)

Giving air time to all sentient beings, and credit to the little bitty dogs

By now you've probably heard the amazing story of Oscar the cat, who seems to sense when a resident of the nursing home where he lives is in their last hours of life.

Less known is the story of Zoey the Chihuahua. From the AP:

Tiny Dog Saves Baby From Rattlesnake

MASONVILLE, Colo. (AP) - Zoey is a Chihuahua, but when a rattlesnake lunged at her owners' 1-year-old grandson, she was a real bulldog.

Booker West was splashing his hands in a birdbath in his grandparents' northern Colorado back yard when the snake slithered up to the toddler, rattled and struck. Five-pound Zoey jumped in the way and took the bites.

“She got in between Booker and the snake, and that's when I heard her yipe,” said Monty Long, the boy's grandfather. The dog required treatment and for a time it appeared she might not survive. Now she prances about.

“These little bitty dogs, they just don't really get credit,” Booker's grandma Denise Long told the Loveland Daily Reporter-Herald.