Dog Poop Hall of Shame

A New Jersey city is hoping to shame dog owners into picking up after their pets. These days in Hoboken, its a dogs life. The citys gentrified downtown, more friendly to its four-legged residents than ever before. Theyre welcome in shops and sidewalk cafes. They even have their own parks. But with all these pooches, large and small, theres a not so small problem. When you walk around, its hard to miss the excrement on the floor. None of the dog owners will own up to it, but they say bad neighbors who are failing to clean up their dogs waste are bringing shame to all, despite the citys best efforts. To convince people to clean up after their dogs, the city has installed bag dispensers, but the problem is many of them are empty. City leaders say every time they fill the things up, the bags vanish. Meanwhile, around almost any corner, the very foul problem is still right there at their feet. "Its disgusting to see, its revolting for people to have to encounter this amount of dog waste on the street," says Hoboken City Councilman Peter Cammarano. Cammarano says the scooping scofflaws are among the citys most serious problems, so hes gotten unanimous support for his solution. Youve heard of a sex offender registry? Well in Hoboken, call it a pooper-scooper hall of shame. "Maybe theyll think twice when its a cold winters morning and theyre not sure whether they want to pick up after their dog," says Hoboken Corp. Counsel Steven Kleinman. The city will build a Web site, modeled after a Chicago police site listing men who solicit prostitutes. "I do pick up after my dog, but I wouldnt want to be shamed in public," says one anonymous dog owner. A public shaming city leaders hope will end in cleaner streets, before the home of Frank Sinatra goes completely to the dogs.