HUMANS, PETS & POOPER-SCOOPERS

Victor Bloom MD

Grosse Pointers cannot help but notice the exchange of letters in the Grosse Pointe News about the varied opinions on whether or not pet owners should clean up after their dogs. Some property owners complain that dog-walkers are responsible for unseemly amounts of pet poop on their lawns and properties.

Some people feel the world is as it is, and we must co-exist with those subhuman creatures who cannot or will not be toilet-trained or housebroken. A pleasant walk is out of the house, outdoors, and it is a good opportunity for the dog to relieve itself after the indoor confinement. Others feel that dog owners should take responsibility for the mess which is the natural consequence of walking the dog.

Arguments can be made on both sides, but most of the letters are in favor of dog-walkers taking more responsibility to clean up after their animal. I have observed that most dog-walkers do not have pooper-scoopers. They seem to be enjoying themselves and have a devil may care attitude. One of the high points of dog owning is dog walking, and I imagine the atmosphere of freedom and relaxation would be interfered with by having to stop and scoop and carry and deposit the findings.

This subject is a fine prelude to a lecture on toilet training. Freud was the first to point out that toilet training is difficult for both parent and child, as it involves emotional conflict and at times serious differences of opinion between parent and child. The child obtains a certain amount of pleasure from relieving him or herself at any time. The parent begins to chafe under the requirement of changing diapers and doing laundry. After a while the lovely odor of my darling child becomes odious. No pun intended.

It is amazing to consider that by the time offspring reach college age, almost 100% of them are toilet trained. It is a value and standard in our society that we make maximum use of indoor plumbing and flush toilets. In China, many do their morning toilet in the street, including urinating and teeth brushing. In such a society, there is no shame, embarrassment or indignation. It is the norm. In small towns in Italy, children are allowed to urinate in the street. Socio-cultural norms determine much behavior.

But in Grosse Pointe, we have higher hygienic and aesthetic standards. Most want their homes, lawns and sidewalks to be pristine. This particular subculture takes pride in streets and landscaping which are beautiful to look at. When we take a walk, we don't want to see unsightly messes or have to worry about where to step. To worry is to look down, and we would love to be able to look straight ahead or up without coming to grief.

I have some Freudian conjectures about why some people pick up after their dogs and some do not. Those who pick up after their dogs may have buried childhood memories of rather strict toilet training. They introjected the parental attitude of repugnance to bowel movements and a love of neatness and cleanliness. Such an attitude can easily be rationalized as sanitary and hygienic; after all, cleanliness is next to Godliness.

On the other hand, others may have had an overly strict toilet training and unconsciously rebel against parental injunctions by giving their pets free reign. They rationalize that excreting is only natural, which was something they were unable to argue at age two or three. Pet owners tend to identify with their pets, (love me, love my dog). They take vicarious gratification from their 'animal' behavior. Dogs are open, like children, and have a certain vitality and joy which many of us domesticated humans lack.

So it is that those who get vicarious gratification from letting their animals free and not picking up after them are in conflict with those who tend to vicarious repugnance. What is the proper attitude toward dog-owners and the community? É We have ordnances against littering, and certainly pooping is littering, but enforcement is not a high priority.

Why is this? Could it be that police, prosecutors, judges and lawmakers also have dogs? And do they use pooper-scoopers? And could it be that lawmakers and law enforcers have their own unconscious, unresolved conflicts about their own toilet training?

In any case, we try to live and let live.

vbloom@comcast.net.