Photo by Patrick Calder.
No, probably not. But if you’re as big of a fan of D.C.’s neighborhood listservs—and the occasionally bizarre, often hilarious, never boring discussion threads that evolve from them—as we are, then this weekend was a particular treat that led to someone posing that question.
Anyone who follows the Hill East listserv may recall the Great Dog Poop Bag Deposit Debate of 2014, wherein members argued about if it’s appropriate for one to deposit dog poop bag in a stranger’s trash can. The crux of the now infamous debate was chronicled and analyzed—spectacularly—by Washington City Paper’s Jenny Rogers.
This weekend, the debate flared up again, with one resident posting the following message on the listserv:
Last night little after midnight, whoever you were that I heard putting your filled dog poop bag in my trashcan on the 1300blk of Ives PL SE….. WARNING: YOU BETTER WATCH IT!
As you know, my trashcan is clearly marker on all sides saying “No Dog Poop”…… so, I must believe that you did it on purpose!
Gauntlet thrown.
We won’t get into the ensuing discussion that followed, but let’s just say it was contentious and there were a lot of words written IN ALL CAPS AND IN BOLD. (FYI: the Department of Public Works’ official advisory for dealing with your canine’s droppings can be found here).
Meanwhile, a concurrent thread evolved warning neighbors about the sighting of a supposed ferret on the loose:
Just spotted a dark color ferret running up East Capitol Street. Was near the intersection of 19th Street and heading towards 18th alternating between the middle of the street and under cars.
Someone’s runaway pet? Perhaps.
This, of course led to a barrage of theories as to how the ferret got loose and just what it was up to in the neighborhood.
I suspect that ferret is the one getting into the public trash cans and dispensing the poop bags into private trash cans on 13th Street. Someone stop that ferret!
Is the loose ferret responsible for depositing dog poop bags in trashcans of residents who clearly don’t want dog poop bags deposited in their trashcan? We’re not ruling it out.
