New York City is decorated with so many no-poop signs that they become easy to ignore after a while. This sign stopped me in my tracks one night. It is reflective and bolted to a tree. It simultaneously grated my nerves and fascinated me for several reasons.
I wondered what kind of thought went into designing a sign in which a dog is "scooping" up after himself. What is this sign saying, and how and why is this sign saying it?
It seems so natural for humans to project our feelings onto our pets (and as a result denying their dog- or cat-ness) by imagining that we are neurological and/or emotional equals. This is annoying in its milder form, and disturbing emotional escapism when more extreme. The personification of a a dog who can walk on his hind legs and maneuver his paws well enough to wield a poop-scoop (not to mention being caring and empathetic enough to do it) is a tough image for me to digest. Maybe this silhouette dog has learned this behavior as a "trick" that he does when he goes outside. Maybe he is a very smart well-mannered dog, and so he is sending a message to other dogs via their literate owners that they should feel inferior if they do not/can not "scoop." This dog role-model is doing the human's job. In all other dog signs I have seen, there is a human crouching behind their dog with scoop or plastic bag in hand, waiting. By eliminating the crouching human, this sign empowers both dogs and their owners at the same time. To dogs: You can clean up all by yourself! To humans: Your dog should be doing this, not you. Ultimately, we all know that it will be the owner bending down to pick it up, but their task is lightened because of this sign. They have had some of the responsibility and shame taken away for them.
I searched online for website that sells this sign, and it turns out that they use this same image for three other signs with different messages. One begs, "Be responsible, or train your dog to be!"
