Scout's Motto

As a young boy growing up in rural upstate New York, I found myself deeply rooted in scouting. I achieved all the ranks in cub scouts and started as a tenderfoot boy scout. Before too long scouting was replaced by summer jobs, sports and girls (not necessarily in that order). The biggest impact scouting had on me was instilling the principle of 'Be Prepared'. It has, and continues to serve me well.

In a recent addition of the Record Delta, a walking trail user used the 'Speak Out' column to comment that the pet waste bag dispenser had been empty the last several times she walked her dogs and asked that the dispenser be filled.

Let me first say thanks to that trail user for making the effort to keep the walking trail clean. I use the walking trail for photography and I am amazed a how many pets do not have responsible owners. City provided pet waste bags are a small dollar item that adds value to our parks system. Now the be prepared part. When I walk my dog I always bring not one but two 'white plastic bags with blue letters'. I would not be surprised that my fall and winter coats still have spare bags in the pockets just hanging in the closet.

I would hope that the 'Speak Out' dog walker does not give up on using the walking trails but also has a spare 'white bag with blue letters' just to be prepared for the occasional shortage. Better yet, use the spare bag and give it to a pet owner you might observe not scooping their own pets poop.