A man in San Diego’s North Park community has dumped chocolate chips in
an effort to deter dogs, but the act is upsetting neighbors.
Frustrated with neighborhood dogs leaving waste on his lawn and a grass
verge outside his home, and with dog owners not picking up after their
pets, a man known as "John" recently scattered several pounds of
chocolate chips.
John said it was an experiment – and that it worked. Over the last
several days pet owners have been steering clear of his property, with
some neighbors afraid the chocolate will make their animals sick.
Some concerned residents have called San Diego County Animal Control and
the San Diego Police Department to complain, saying this is threatening
the lives of their pets.
Sarah Fisher is one of those worried residents, and she’s warning others
in North Park not to walk near John’s home.
“[Residents] are scared of what he might do,” Fisher said. “If he is
doing this – which is like an animal genocide – pretty much, he's
putting it out for animals to ingest and get sick.”
Fisher has a two-year-old golden doodle named Lucy that she walks with
regularly. She is now avoiding John’s property but fears unsuspecting
animals will stumble upon the chocolate and get sick.
John agreed to an interview if his face wasn’t shown on camera. He said irresponsible dog owners are constantly not picking up after their pets and leaving piles of waste in his yard. He said he has left signs in front of his home – including a note written on a yoga mat that suggests an animal could be electrocuted if it urinates on his tyres. However, those signs don’t seem to work, John said, so he came up with the chocolate chips idea. “They can walk on the other side of the street,” he said. “I am tired of it. People disrespect my yard; I'm tired of the stuff.” John insists chocolate won't harm the animals.
Still, there is a large school of thought that says it can be toxic to
dogs and can lead to illness and even death, depending on what kind of
chocolate it is and how much a dog ingests.
John said he plans to mow the grass in the next few days to get rid of
the remaining chocolate morsels. However, his neighbors want something
done about the situation immediately.
San Diego County Animal Control Deputy Director Dan DeSousa said animal services investigators were notified of this incident by residents on Monday.
He said the investigation is ongoing, and no further details would be
released at this time.
On Wednesday John said someone had broken the mirror on his car in what
he believes is retaliation against him putting the chocolate chips in
his yard.
John agreed to an interview if his face wasn’t shown on camera. He said irresponsible dog owners are constantly not picking up after their pets and leaving piles of waste in his yard. He said he has left signs in front of his home – including a note written on a yoga mat that suggests an animal could be electrocuted if it urinates on his tyres. However, those signs don’t seem to work, John said, so he came up with the chocolate chips idea. “They can walk on the other side of the street,” he said. “I am tired of it. People disrespect my yard; I'm tired of the stuff.” John insists chocolate won't harm the animals.
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