Quantcast

The DNAinfo archives brought to you by WNYC.
Read the press release here.

Neighbor Responds to Passive-Aggressive Note About Dog Cleanup... with Poop

By David Matthews | December 28, 2015 6:35am | Updated on January 4, 2016 8:33am

RIVER NORTH — Somebody made it abundantly clear how he or she felt about a River North resident's letters imploring neighbors to pick up after their dogs — by ripping one of the letters off a tree and literally putting dog poop on it.

The letters posted last week on the 800 block of North Kingsbury Street address "lazy, disrespectful, disgusting" neighbors who leave dog waste "all over the grass and sidewalk" that then spreads to "the bottom of my shoes, the bottom of my kids' shoes, my dog's feet, my floor, my car pedals." 

Mike Hippensteel, a professional dog walker who has served clients in the neighborhood for about 10 months, noticed the eight letters posted mid-morning Dec. 22 on the block. 


[Mike Hippensteel]

Though Hippensteel didn't know who posted the original letters, he said that by about 1:30 p.m. that day, someone responded by ripping down one of the letters and replying to it with another snarky note and actual dog poop. 


[Mike Hippensteel]

"I find your clever use of 'found' to be in poor taste, and your grammar is repulsive," the letter in reply reads. "Grow up and handle your problems like a big boy instead of writing passive-aggressive notes like a 13-year-old," signed with a smiley face.

Dog poop, and whether dog owners pick it up, has been a hot-button neighborhood issue seemingly since humans started rearing canines as pets. Poop comes up whenever a new park — and whether it will allow dogs — is announced, and dog feces was the main reason why one company pulled its support two years ago from a "Movies in the Park" series at nearby Fulton River Park, 601 W. Kinzie St. Last winter, West Loop residents raised concerns about the amount of poop hidden under snowy sledding hills at Mary Bartelme Park, 115 S. Sangamon St. 

Ald. Brendan Reilly (42nd), whose ward includes River North, once told neighbors in 2013 that a dog owner smeared poop on his chief of staff's jacket after the man told a woman to clean up after her dog in the neighborhood.

"We've got some real turkeys for neighbors who don't know how to treat people," Reilly said then.

Hippensteel, the dog walker, said he always picks up after his clients' dogs, but understands the original poster's frustration. 

"It's gotten worse" over the last 10 months, he said. "If I see another pile somewhere that’s close by I’ll pick up and help out, but it’s gotten overwhelming to the point where there’s poop everywhere." 

With the apparent increase in dogs and dog owners in the area, Hippensteel said he's doubtful the issue will be resolved soon.

"It could possibly be a series of passive-aggressive notes between individuals," he said. "They seem petty enough." 

For more neighborhood news, listen to DNAinfo Radio here: