A cute wee story caught my eye recently - it was about a Chinese couple who spent $20,000 and waited six months to get their two corgis from China to Lower Hutt.
Not everyone has that kind of money, obviously, but they did and loved those dogs so much they wanted to spend it bringing them to New Zealand rather than re-homing them and getting new dogs.
That kind of extravagance on beloved family pets isn't that unusual anymore - you see loads of examples these days of people who spoil their dogs rotten, buy them little outfits and take them on holiday with them.
I must admit I do all those things. My german shepherd is totally spoiled; he wore a suit to my wedding, he also owns a Swanndri. He goes on adventure walks with packs of dogs when we're working long hours and we flew him to the South Island over Christmas for the family holiday - although in my defence it was actually cheaper than putting him in a kennel.
And I'm not alone - people care deeply about the family pooch. It's now a massive industry and I totally get it.
What I don't get is that the same people who care so deeply about their pet's well-being seem to care very little about picking up after them. As in their poo.
A guy walked his dog past our house recently, stopping to let the dog do his business on the lawn and then he just walked off leaving the steaming pile behind. He even had poo bags on the lead and didn't deign to use them. My husband was having none of that and made him come back and pick it up. To be honest I was surprised we didn't later find it in our letterbox.
But I see the same thing over and over at the lovely parks specifically set aside for dogs to go wild in and have a good time in a same space - they are covered in poo.
People pretend not to notice, they decide if it's not on the path it's not worth picking up, they decide if it's just a small dog's poo it isn't worth picking up - but I can tell you after your dog has stepped in it and trampled it through your house, it is worth picking up.
Picking up after your pooch is part of the deal, and part of the law. I know this intimately - my dog seems to have irritable bowels and sometimes I can pick up five piles on one walk - and not all of them are solid.
You wouldn't let your child just go around defecating here, there and everywhere, and nor should you let your dog.
When a dog's gotta go, it's gotta go and I have no problem with that. It's the lazy owners I have a problem with.
It's your dog, it's your problem - so for goodness' sake, be a tidy Kiwi, pick it up and put it in the bin.
