Good dog

     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!"

There is a light that never goes out...

     There is a free-standing McDonald's on 4th Ave. at 1st St. in Park Slope.  It even has a drive-thru that stays open 24 hours a day on weekends.  It is a pilgrimage site for any soul that needs coffee or a hamburger at 2 am, or 4 am, or 6 am, when regular old deli coffee just won't do.

      When I walk to work, it is still dark outside, and the glowing M is a beacon against the dark Brooklyn sky.  The site is walled in glass and the glittering fluorescence spills forth, illuminating the whole block; it is so bright, that I must stay on the opposite side of the street when passing.

     It has the presence of a preserved turn-of-the-century building surrounded by high-rises. It has space on all sides, on its own plot of land (parking lot).  Its contemporary high-tech touches are subtle: there is a small decal on the window reminding you that you can follow McDonald's on Twitter and check in on FourSquare.

    During the day, this spectre is the quaintest of buildings in the neighborhood, with its low sloped red roof, banners waving, and a carefully landscaped mulched border.  Its well-maintained paint job is untouched by graffiti.  While I am not a devotee it this place, I really do admire it.