An Augean task
Dzielnica Srodmiescie claims it wants to be the most sanitary district in Warsaw, and it's distributing free packages of five wooden scoops and plastic bags to prove it.
The packages, called "WC dog," are aimed at encouraging dog owners to scoop the poop from the capital's streets and lawns.
"We want Srodmiescie to become the cleanest district in Warsaw," said district spokesman Krzysztof Przygoda. Since the distribution program began at the end of last month, tidy-minded pet owners have snapped up half of the prepared 1,500 kits.
"This is to educate people and create the habit of cleaning up after their dog," Przygoda said. "We want to make them aware that getting rid of doggy excrement is a must." But the program is not limited to district residents; anyone can come to ulica Nowogrodzka and grab a package.
"Instead of punishing dog owners, we prefer to teach them," Przygoda added.
Srodmiescie started toilet training dog owners at the end of last year. Those who registered their dogs and paid the zl. 31.70 doggy tax received the scoop and bag combo, and building supervisors were also given the sets to distribute to residents, Przygoda said.
Two years ago, Gmina Centrum passed a resolution requiring dog owners to remove excrement not only from elevators and buildings, but also from squares, streets and parks. As any pedestrian can attest, however, the resolution is neither enforced nor punished.
While Srodmiescie claims the WC packages are going like hot cakes, meeting anyone anywhere who cleans up after their dog is still a Herculean enterprise.
Andrzej Milczarek, an ulica Chocimska resident, went for a walk last Friday with his German shepherd, who did his deed on the square between ulica Skolimowska and ulica Goworka, a short distance from the Zielona Budka ice cream parlor. But the owner had neither the cleaning equipment nor idea that such a thing was required.
"I've never heard about any 'WC dog' packages," Milczarek said. "The city put in waste baskets for doggie poo a long time ago, but they were immediately destroyed." Milczarek also doubted that Western European dog owners clean up all of their pets' scatological gifts. "I slipped many times when I walked through the Elysian Fields," he said.
While Milczarek's dog was performing its natural functions, Helena Tkaczyk, a pensioner, and her friend contemplated last Friday's fleeting sunny weather. Their enjoyment was slightly marred by a view of Milczarek's dog.
"Whoever owns a dog should clean up after him, just like people do abroad," Tkaczyk said. "Here dogs poo anywhere they stop."
She added that around her home on ulica Bagatela, dog owners allow their pets to defecate everywhere, on sidewalks and even inside buildings. "Once I reprimanded one such owner and I was told to go to hell," she said.
A more equivocal reaction came from Magda Sikorska, a Kennel Club employee and fox terrier owner. "Such projects don't make any sense," Sikorska said, referring to the "WC dog" enterprise. "If I cleaned up after my dog, dozens of pet owners wouldn't, so what's the point?" She said she's heard that people in the U.K. have to clean up after their animals and public places, and that there are special canine trails where owners can take their dogs. Unfortunately, she said, Varsovians lack the latter option. Sikorska lives around the Old Town, and the only place to take her dog is a green area near the Wisla river. She also complained that the residents of her building were promised the "WC dog" packages but have received nothing so far. "Perhaps I would clean it up if I got the equipment," Sikorska said. "But I am not going to buy anything, especially since I would be the only one doing it."
