A Plea to Dog Owners

13 March 2017
From Dr Joe Samy (former Environmental Committee Chairman of RA SS20 Central)

A Plea to Dog Owners

I wake up bright and early in the morning on hearing the sound of chirping birds and walk out into the garden to smell the aromatic jasmine flowers. To my dismay on opening the gate I get a whiff of a dog poop at the end of the drive way. This is the usual dilemma of most residents living in SS20 Central. It is now common to see dog poop all over the side of the road and one has to be careful when alighting out of the car least they step on a dog poop.  Some of the side roads are so badly littered with dog poop that one has to very carefully maneuver their way when walking to avoid the poop.

A resident recounts that in his village it is usual to encounter dog poop everywhere as there are many dogs running around scavenging for food.  He expected it to be different in a city like Petaling Jaya, especially with mostly affluent residents staying in SS20 Central.  We cannot blame this on stray dogs as the Residents Association with the cooperation with MBPJ has rounded up as many as 15 dogs and taken them out of SS20 Central.

Even the children’s playing field is littered with dog poop. One may be sitting on a bench enjoying a quiet peaceful moment, only to realize much later that just beside the bench there is a dog poop. This would be extremely unpleasant and spoil the mood of the person for the whole day. By right dogs are not allowed in the field, but some residents bring their dogs to the field. Some dog owners allow their dogs to run around freely and they sometimes run into the field or overturn dustbins scavenging for food much to the annoyance of neighbours.

We are indeed appreciative of residents who walk their dogs on leash with plastic bags and a small shovel to scoop up the poop, as is practiced in developed countries. However these same dog owners allow the dogs on leash to urinate freely anywhere they like, even on plants specially planted outside the houses. These may be herbs planted to add flavour to the cooking, or pandan that many neighbours harvest the leaves to add aroma to their cakes. Dog owners should be careful and watch where the dogs urinate so that the neighbours’ plants are not contaminated.

These are some of the issues we would like to bring to the attention of dog owners so that there is some concerted effort in the control and management of dog poop. Some residents voiced the use of CCTV cameras to monitor the movement of dogs but it is better for dog owners themselves to realize the responsibilities of dog ownership and exercise some measure of control so that the neighbours are not annoyed. However, these CCTV footages can be retrieved, if required, as we have used them to monitor and identify crime.

Maybe with the planting of more trees bearing aromatic flowers in the future will help to drown the whiff of dog poop and urine. Let us smell the sweet jasmine and not the poop in SS20 Central.