Pets

“Dear PoPville,

Around 1 am this morning, my friends and I spotted a really cute medium sized black dog wandering around with no collar at 11th and Park Rd NW. Our best guess was that it is a Portugese Water Dog, since it closely resembled First Dog Bo (“Faux Bo”?). He had one white leg and other white marks on his belly, and looked like he had been well-groomed until recently. I did not take a picture. He was non-aggressive to us as we tried to coax him over, and knew how to “sit”, but was very skittish and wouldn’t let us come close for more than a second. The worst part was he kept running into the street.

After requests to a 24 hour veterinary clinic and the Humane Society, who were both unable to help with a stray at that hour, we flagged down a police cruiser. The officers were very helpful and were able to coax the dog into the enclosed dog run at 11th and Park NW, at which point they called animal control to come collect him.

“Faux Bo” seemed like such a sweetheart and could use some help to find his way home! If you have any information about a dog matching this description, or, if it turns out to be an abuse/abandonment case and you would be interested in pursuing adoption, please contact DC Animal Services (202) 576-6664 or the Washington Humane Society (202) 234-8626.”

Photo by PoPville flickr user washingtonydc

“Dear PoPville,

Recently I was approached on the street by young men presumably selling dogs, one near Capitol Hill and on the same day near Logan Circle. One even stood on the corner subtly advertising with a very cute puppy in his hand. I’m not a dog person, so I don’t know the breed, but this definitely was no street mutt. It was very clean and very well groomed. Even the pitch of the two guys was similar (something odd like “You need a dog?”) I initially thought “dog” might have been street code language for some new drug, but the first guy persisted and explained that, yes, he meant pet dogs. Just wondering if other have been approached. Perhaps it’s just an innocent hustle and a coincidence that two guys approached me on the same day… or is there some kind of dog selling ring in DC now?”

“Dear PoPville,

I understand why people get angry when dog owners don’t clean up after their dogs. I am a dog owner and it makes me furious to see lazy people who are breaking the law. I have plastic bags stuffed in about every pocket just in case I need them.

But there also appears to be an attitude that private parties (residential and commercial) have the right to prohibit perfectly legal canine behavior in public tree boxes. I appreciate the effort to keep the tree boxes tidy but if one plants flowers and shrubbery on public property including tree boxes, they cannot expect these plants to be treated as private property. These signs are the most extreme response I have seen yet to try to try to dictate what dogs can do on public property, however, I see less permanent versions of these signs all over town.

The way I see it, if the police have an issue with it, they can issue me a fine. If you are not an officer of the law then don’t tell me what to do on public property.

On the other hand, there are specific things that are prohibited or required by law related to tree boxes according to the DDOT Public Realm Design Manual:

· Be planted a minimum of 2 feet from the root flare (crown) of the street tree in order to protect feeder and anchor roots from damage
· Wickets and other tripping hazards are strictly prohibited
· The growing of vegetables in a tree box area is prohibited
· Include plants that have a shallow root system and that grow less than 18 inches in height

I have seen many tree boxes in violation of these rules, often while sporting a ‘no dogs’ sign as well.

PS I maintain a treebox in front of my home but I use low, easily replaceable grasses and mulch rather than create a private garden.”

“Dear PoPville,

Amos is a brown lab mix with a mostly brown coat and white on his chest. He’s about 60 lbs and has a red collar with a rabies tag and a tag with his name and my phone number.

Last seen June 27 around 8:00 pm on Buchanan St NW between Georgia and 9th. He’s friendly but won’t typically let strangers too close. If you see him please call day or night 850-509-0132.”