Ghaziabad societies' unique method of teaching people petiquette

Squabbles over pets are nothing new in housing societies. But in a latest development, the

Federation of Association of Apartment Owners

in Ghaziabad has started an initiative called Scoop The Poop to teach people pet etiquette. Several societies in Ghaziabad have put up signboards with messages to sensitize pet owners to clean the common area if their dogs litter when out for a walk. 'If your dog poops, you must scoop even if no one sees you,' says one of the boards.

Alok Kumar, President,

AOA Ghaziabad

, says, "Some owners don't look after their dogs who litter. Earlier, dogs would poop in the lift and residents would fight over whose dog has done it and who should clean. Sometimes, things escalated so much that we had to consider taking police’s help to resolve the matter. So we thought of putting up boards so that logon ko thoda samajh aaye. The purpose of starting this was to create awareness among people. There are certain fines as well if they don't follow rules, like some societies impose a fine of Rs100-Rs150 in case anyone's dog litters."

Such boards have also been put up in Arihant Harmony society (BCCL/ Samik Sen)

It was started around 20 days ago at

Niho Scottish Garden Society

and was followed by several other apartments. Alok adds, "These boards have definitely made an impact and we are seeing fewer fights now. Log khud conscious ho gaye hain."

Alok Gupta, President,

Jaipuria Sunrise Greens

, says, "Dog litter is a big problem. I used to get a lot of complaints from residents that some residents were making their dogs poop in the basement. Ever since we have put up these boards, people have become sensitive towards this issue. They should avoid taking their dogs in the lift if their dogs tend to urinate often."

Shilpa

Sachan

, treasurer,

Exotica Elegance

says, "People are actually appreciating this initiative. Jo aata hai board padh ke hi jaata hai. And we have seen a change in people’s behaviour - they ensure that their dogs don't litter the compound, and in case they do so, the owners clean it."

(BCCL/ Samik Sen)

Sadhna Sharma, a resident of Exotica Elegance, says, "My dog anyway didn’t litter in the society. If there was any littering, my attendant who used to walk him would scoop it and throw it away. But this is a great initiative by the RWA. Everyone must come forward and start training their dogs to not litter the society."

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