It kind of bums us out to have to dump this on you a month before Christmas, but the 鈥減oo-rameters鈥� of proper social behaviour appear to have been pushed beyond acceptable limits.

And, frankly, it stinks.

Poop, scat, excrement, feces,  dung, droppings, call it whatever you want.

But what you don鈥檛 really want to do, is look at it 鈥� or, heaven forbid, step in it.

Users of a Brookswood area  trail haven鈥檛 had much choice about the former, though, because someone has beenof dog poop 鈥� by the dozens, in fact 鈥� into a ditch that borders the path and is in close proximity to an elementary school.

It boggles the mind to think that someone would go to the trouble of bagging their dog鈥檚 leavings if all they planned to do was, well, leave them.

You can鈥檛 blame people if they鈥檙e a little browned off by the lack of consideration.

But so far, the bagging bandit has managed to avoid getting caught in the act.

Meanwhile, a local man and woman 鈥� for our purposes today, let鈥檚 call them heroes 鈥� disgusted by this lack of consideration, took care of business last week, collecting no fewer than 120 bags of doggie-doo and depositing them in the garbage, which, apparently, is located at not too great a distance from the scene of the repeated crime.

Sadly, it comes as no great surprise to learn that they returned just a few days later to find the collection piling up once again.

I have no proof whatsoever, but my gut feeling is that this is the work of some kid who begged his parents for a dog, promising to faithfully walk it and, of course, to pick up after it.

This is what鈥檚 known as getting off on a technicality.

Who knows whether it鈥檚 laziness, thoughtlessness or just a general disregard for others. No matter the reason, it鈥檚 sad that it鈥檚 come to this 鈥� people who don鈥檛 even own a dog cleaning up after others鈥� pets.

This is an extreme example, but the problem is not limited to just one area.

91原创 has some of the prettiest trails in the region. Metro Vancouver in particular does a terrific job of keeping local parks in pristine condition, but even in one of these preserves, it鈥檚 not unheard of to catch a glimpse of a small white plastic bag tossed carelessly into the bushes.

The solution is pretty simple. If you don鈥檛 want to pick up poop and carry it until you can properly dispose of it, then don鈥檛 get a dog.

If that鈥檚 too restrictive for our phantom bag tosser, perhaps they and their pooch could move to France, where the rules on these things, I鈥檓 told, are somewhat looser.

The jig may be up, however, because the Township bylaw department has been made aware and they have promised to pay extra attention to the park.

From now on, the perpetrator (or perpetrators) better watch their step.

Come to think of it, that鈥檚 probably not a bad idea for the rest of us, either.