THE BROKEN WINDOW

Some very bad guys have invaded our neighborhood. They painted words on the brick wall of a building across the street. Jet, my foster mom, called them taggers.

What’s the big deal? Dogs mark their territory all the time with pee so why not let people do the same thing with their art? It gave Jet pause (not paws). After a brief conversation with Jet, I finally understood.

Dogs often mark their territory to let you know they’ve ‘been’ around. (It seems to me that men do the same thing sometimes.) However, taggers are bad guys that mark an area to let you know they ‘are’ around and they intend to stay. Marking a wall is just the beginning. It’s called the Broken Window Factor. Just ask a cop.

First, a window in the neighborhood is broken. Instead of repairing it, people talk but ignore the window. Then two windows are broken. Next, the fences around the area are flooded with graffiti. Trash begins to litter the street. Before you know it, kids are buying drugs at the end of the block. You get the idea. – Which explains why Jet reported the taggers to the police station and had their ‘art’ removed so quickly.

So, here’s my lesson of the day… When you see bad things happen to your neighborhood, get off your duff and take action. Let the bad guys know that the people in your area are vigilant and will not tolerate wall ‘art’ or broken windows. One more thing… Ignoring a problem usually happens when empathy turns into apathy. This is precisely the reason why there are so many abandoned dogs on our streets or how streets become abandoned.


Q Okay, the question of the day is from Jiffy who asked: Why does poop taste so good to dogs but humans hate it?

Dear Jiffy:
I cannot explain a human’s inability to appreciate the culinary attributes of poop. When dogs eat other animal poop or their own, it is usually because they are not getting enough of the ‘right’ food to meet their energy needs. Consider changing your dog’s food to something healthier like Science Diet.