Ever since I stepped in a big pile of dog poop on my way to school one day and the odor took over our eighth-grade classroom, I’ve always had a precarious relationship with the less glamorous side of man’s best friend. Unfortunately, the relationship struck back up a couple of days ago when I was tossing the baseball around with a good friend of mine in our front yard, and after 15 minutes of fielding grounders, we discovered that our beloved field was also beloved by dogs. Suddenly, we looked at the ball a whole lot more carefully, praying that we had avoided the excrement that was scattered around our front lawn like confetti at a New Year’s Party. Although, we thankfully avoided getting dog poop on our hands or the ball, I have to say it really irritates me when people don’t pick up after their dogs. My mom and I have a dog, and whenever I took the night walk, I always picked up after my dog. And although I’d be hard-pressed to say I enjoyed it, I did it. The only excuse for not doing it is if you have a bad back, and honestly, that’s what pooper-scoopers are for. So, come on, Evanston, step it up. Pick up after your dog.

Jonah Rosenblum is a football beat writer. He can be reached at [email protected].