Where the streets have no shame
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Paris is playing host to an exhibition on famous dogs. The portraits of the prominent pooches adorn the walls of a local hunting museum. As you leave the glitz and glamour of the canine celebration, however, you may be faced with a different reality…the doggie doodoo-covered streets of Paris.
Le Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature is hosting the exhibition dedicated solely to the dogs of famous people. The proud owners include politicians, actresses and designers. The portraits are four times the actual size of their four-legged subjects and hang one above the other in a dimly lit room.
But outside a dark reality awaits the museum’s visitors. Paris’ pavements are covered in dog muck, as a large number of dog owners don’t bother cleaning up after their little friend does his or her business.
Laura Angela is a dog-sitter in Paris, who used to ply her trade in New York. “People would yell at you in New York [if you didn’t pick up the dog turd], whereas here they don’t and they should,” she told Euranet. She believes hefty fines should be imposed and people should be made feel embarrassed for ignoring their pet’s mess.
Militant pick-up-the-poop enforcers can go a step too far however. Earlier this month a grandmother from Sunderland, UK fought against a council fine for picking up the wrong poop. She missed her own pet’s mess and accidentally picked up after another doggy, and received a £50 fine for her trouble. She beat the wrap after getting her local MP and solicitor involved. So let’s hope Paris cleans up its act, but doesn’t go too far.
