What's with the hard sell and rush-rush to put dog-poop bag dispensers in Denver parks? Why is The Denver Post boosting the plan with a shameless marketing piece?
Citizen spokesmodel and "entrepreneur" Bill Airy supposedly hatched this idea after seeing a guy fail to clean up after his dog at Sloan's Lake. Airy diagnosed the problem: Lack of handy baggies.
Really? I don't know a responsible dog owner who doesn't carry baggies when walking the pooch. They have bag-festooned leashes and baggies stuffed in every pocket of every jacket they own. When they buy dog food, they buy baggies specifically intended for the task, or they recycle their newspaper bags as poop scoopers.
People who care enough to follow the law and clean up after their dogs are conscientious about having bags at the ready. Only in rare circumstances do they find themselves bagless.
Time after time I've seen people fail to clean up after their dogs in parks and on parkways. What's the problem? It's very simple. Lots of people just don't give a crap about cleaning up after their pets. It's someone else's problem to deal with. If a bag dispenser with flashing neon lights was within arm's reach, these folks would leave Fifi's mess right where it landed.
The problem is negligent pet owners coupled with (cough) lax code enforcement.
But by golly, you just wave the words "green" and "eco-friendly" in front of the Hickenlooper administration and suddenly that's the solution for every problem.
Our eco-swooning city has given Airy's company the right to sell advertising -- I mean, "sponsored boxes" -- in Denver parks.
Isn't it ironic? According to local folklore, Mayor John Hickenlooper's mayoral ambitions were kindled by his opposition to renaming Mile High Stadium to reflect Invesco's corporate sponsorship.
Now it's another day, another public-private co-branding opportunity.
Think about it. Poo Free Parks can rent out tiny plots of our public parks to sponsor-tisers.
Airy must have a great track record as an entrepreneur, worthy of the privilege of profiting from public property. What, exactly, has he entrepreneured?
Check out Boost My Score. According to his site, Airy "figured out the secret of 'credit piggybacking' by adding family members to his credit cards." If your brother has good credit and you have lousy credit, you get your brother to add you as an authorized user on one of his accounts. You'll get a better credit score, which means "easier loan approvals" and "higher credit limits" for you.
Golly, it's hard to see any harm in gaming the system like that.... Sigh.
The practice might be deceptive. But it's legal-ish. Apparently. As is sponsor-tising in Denver parks.
City officials selected Airy's company without competitive bidding, natch. A rep from the Parks and Rec department called Airy's company “kind of a new business.”
Sounds like a very old business to me: a sure-fire plan to spin crap into gold -- or, in this case, green.
From credit piggybacking to clever poopybagging. Who's the sucker? City officials, or you and me?
Comments
I'd rather have clean waterways than to worry about tiny advertising in our parks. Having dispensers (WITH bags) increases the amount of poop being picked up. Period. If you are so against advertising, are you going to start picking up other dog's poop in parks?
Is this woman for real? What a complete moron! How could looking at a pile of hot moist dog crap look better than a tiny little sign with a sponsor's name on it...? Free BIODEGRADABLE bags. Stocked. FREE! Seems like a total win win for everyone... Sounds like Ms. Jones could use a refresher course on economics and the benefits of private enterprise working for the public. Its authors like this who make the Examiner less reputable than it should be.
I wonder if the party-p**per writer has a pet? She doesn't seem good natured. I have a dog and use non-biodegradable bags from the store. I often bring one, and when the dog goes twice -- ooops! Would you rather have a sponsored dispenser or step in dung? When I see a dispenser I am relieved that Tuvok the Dog can go as much as he needs to. I also feel more welcome at the park. It feels contemporary. Those people who have bags on their leases have to pay them. I have a company that let's people choose between accessing content free via advertising or paid with a credit card. Wouldn't you know, most people prefer NOT to pay.
This is a great idea but the guy who runs it is a total douche!
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