Dear Editor:
We posted the very long letter on the fence outside our home, scolding someone who left an unwelcome gift nearby (a.k.a. dog poop in a bag). The letter was still there until a few days ago and we noticed people who stopped by to read the letter or take pictures of it. By the way, we did not spray the streets.
We cheered when we saw our letter published in the Hudson Reporter. Why? Because we’ve been fighting this battle for many years.
I have several pictures taken at several parks in Hoboken where dog owners take their dogs, who knows what the dogs do on the grass, then later on kids play on it or people have picnics on the dirty grass. It’s absolutely disgusting what non-dog owners have to endure in Hoboken. I even have a picture of people with a dog inside the playground of Columbus Park. As you may know, dogs should not be allowed on the grass of parks. But who cares, right? There’s never anyone watching the sneaky dog owners.
Once I confronted a dog owner at Steven’s park, after the law prohibiting dogs on grass was issued last year. She told me: Are you happy now? I said, yes. I have a son and I want to protect him. Then she cursed me really badly.
I spoke several times with Frank Sasso at city hall, who seems to understand the situation and told me that the fines are getting higher and people have been caught not disposing of dog defecation. However, I do not see improvement at all. Whatever law they’ve issued did not move the needle. It’s unfair that irresponsible dog owners live stress free here and non-dog owners have to put up with filthy streets.
We all know that the first reason people leave Hoboken is due to the poor education system. However, we thought about leaving Hoboken many times because of the dog defecation issue, which never goes away.
Just for the record, we like dogs, my father is a veterinarian – but I do not tolerate irresponsible, obnoxious and ignorant dog owners in Hoboken.
Anonymous in Hoboken