Tooting my own Horn

One of the things about dogs is that, like almost all animals, at the core they are a tube in which stuff enters at one end and exits at another. In the modern culture of dog ownership it is considered correct to pick up this effluence and deposit in an appropriate receptacle. I thoroughly approve of this social agreement as although it is a relatively unpleasant duty, it is better than stepping in it, smelling it everywhere or having your dog roll enthusiastically in it and then lie on your couch. So I pick up my dog's crap in plastic bags and put them away.

Human beings have a behavior called, "Social loafing." In this behavior people who have a task as part of a group in which they are not directly evaluated do less than they would if directly evaluated or entirely responsible for the task. With dog owners this consists of not picking up your dog's poop when not observed by others. Sometimes you just miss that your dog has eliminated while you are talking or paying attention to something else. Sometimes in December in Portland it is pitch black outside and the poop becomes invisible, thus providing some cover stories for those unwilling to do their part. It is sometimes comic to see people's brains churning over whether they have been observed adequately for them to be poory evaluated in this duty.

As a result there is crap from other dogs lying around in parks. Since I'm against this I often pick up the cold, canine fecal-matter I see around on the ground. But that's far from the only reason I do it. I also do it so that I can feel morally superior to the unidentified culprit. I also do it to absolve myself of the guilt that might arise from not finding my dogs kaka in the dark of the night. But mostly I do it for the warm feeling that results from the adulation I imagine getting from humanity as a whole for being such a good person. Which is why I have written this post, so you now have the opportunity to adulate me for my awesome goodness.

You are being evaluated, so no social loafing with the adulation. ADULATE ME NOW!