Bag a poo

The trials and tribulations of picking up dog droppings when you're visually impaired.

Bree never ceases to amaze me….

I have often been asked by people how I pick up dog poo when I can’t see it. For those of you who have dogs, try and pick up some with your eyes closed. It’s like playing minesweeper.
 
The biggest problem I have is colour. Unfortunately, the way I see colour is a little skewed so when there’s a doggy deposit on a nice green grass, it just blends in with the grass.
 
When I did my guide dog training many years ago, I was surprised there was a bag you can purchase which is designed to sit on the end of the dog and the droppings go straight into the bag. The difficulties I can see with this idea is, sometimes a dog doesn’t announce when they need to drop one. I have enough trouble picking the dam thing. Imagine trying to put a bag on the end of Bree. She would be utterly confused.
 
In most cases, I deal with it quite ok. She has a pose, and her tail curls at the top indicating she has a present for me. I stand by her side and then once she finishes the withdraw, I bend down and pick it up with a bag and put it in the bin.
 
If I’m at home and it’s late at night and I can’t see it, or if it’s raining, I will just leave it and pick it up later. If I’m out and the same thing occurs, generally there is someone with me. Very rarely have I had to do it somewhere late at night on my own. God help me if that had to happen.
 
I have often wondered if Bree is the only dog who does this. When she finishes doing a number 2, she will move aside, letting me pick it up and she will start scraping her back legs in the grass. Often, I get a mouth full of grass and dirt. Does anyone have a dog that does that?
 
The most memorable dog poo incident I can recall was when Bree and I went for a walk. It was a particularly windy day and she decided to go when we were about halfway into our walk.
 
I put my hand into the bag, bent down to pick up the s!@# and then as I went to grab it, the wind blew the bag away, leaving me with a hand holding a mushy poo. It was the worse walk I have ever been on. Bree was even embarrassed to walk with me.

So, what did I learn?

Always ensure you have the plastic bad firmly on your hand before you pick up the toxic nugget.

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