Making a Better Place for Dogs

After a couple of glorious January days -- call it climate change, El Nino, global warming, whatever you want -- it just makes you appreciate being outside.

Growing up on a farm, my parents, especially my dad, always instilled in us an appreciation and a love for the land. To Dad, that carried over anywhere he went -- city streets, golf course fairways, sun-drenched beaches.

Wherever he did go, my dad picked up garbage. He just wanted someone after him to enjoy that spot even more than he did. And if he did it, we did it, too.

One of my gifts for Christmas was a tool to pick up garbage called the Deluxe Gopher. It's got a trigger handle that allows you to close the suction cups around the item you want to pick up. No messy items in your hands, and no bending over for a 40-something back. I went out today to pick up items around our neighborhood, with a carrier bag over my shoulder and a plastic garbage bag inside that.

One little boy asked, "What is that?"

"It's to pick up garbage," I told him. Maybe he thought it was a funky walking stick or some kind of virtual reality toy.

Anyway, after only 17 minutes of picking up trash my load included one crushed Pepsi can, four small plastic bottles and three Shoppers newspapers. Those items ended up in our recycling containers and the rest of it will head to the landfill. But as Dad told us: You left that place better than you found it.