Ben van Buiten: What's that smell?
What's that smell? A remarkable discovery
Ben van Buiten walks around outside, takes in what he comes across, and forms his own opinions about it. Sometimes big, sometimes small, often just enough to make him pause for a moment.
Summer is fantastic. A little sunshine, a walk around the neighborhood, birds chirping. Until suddenly you catch a whiff of something. Not the scent of blooming flowers, but a more earthy smell. A moment later, you make the discovery: a brown surprise, strategically hidden on the path or in the grass. And as every dog owner and hiker knows: such a surprise forms an intimate relationship with the sole of your shoe without any hesitation.
Ben van Buiten comes across surprises like this every day. Not literally under my shoes, but figuratively on my desk. And believe me: there’s a stink to that, too. Dog poop has been firmly in the top three annoyances in public spaces for years. But recently, I made a remarkable discovery. Two-legged and four-legged creatures are starting to look more and more alike. And I’m not talking about hairstyles or personality traits.
We know that dogs can’t read. They don’t understand traffic signs, policies, or municipal guidelines. We don’t hold that against them. But it seems that some dog owners are starting to develop the same limitation.
The system is actually very simple. Along the walking routes, there are posts with signs in three colors that make it immediately clear what is and isn’t allowed. Green means: off-leash area. Your dog may run around freely, and the municipality takes care of cleaning up after it. Blue means: dogs must be kept on a leash. Your dog must stay on a leash, and here, too, the municipality takes care of cleanup. Red means: no dogs allowed. Even if you’re convinced that your dog suddenly turns into a walking handbag the moment you pick it up. Don’t see a sign? Then a simple rule applies: you can bring your dog, but you must clean up any dog waste yourself.
Still, for some people, the color red seems to invite debate. It’s as if traffic lights were merely non-binding suggestions. You can enforce the rules, you can report violations, but let’s be honest: the greatest benefit lies not in rules, but in common sense.
And if, like your dog, you sometimes have trouble distinguishing colors or following the instructions on signs, just pick up the dog poop and throw it in a designated trash can. We can’t make it any more fun than that. But we can make it a lot cleaner.
The outdoors doesn’t follow a schedule. This means new situations arise every day in public spaces. If you see something that doesn’t look right, you can easily report it using the BuitenBeter app. That way, we can all help keep things in order outdoors.