As if the weather wasn't crappy enough

I was out this past weekend, enjoying the "Great Melt" that has transformed Kingston from white to wet.
My wife and 4 year-old son were along for the walk along the waterfront by the old Psych. Hospital Grounds and,due to his insatiable curiosity,
we were forced to repeat a phrase so often it might very well become our 2006 spring walk mantra:
" Watch out for the dog poop, Sam."
Ok, riddle me this. Why are so many people who own dogs and who are usually so conscientious about scooping in the other three seasons suddenly such self-centred boobs in the winter, letting Rover do his business in the snow and then just walking away?
Is it the fact that suddenly the blobs in question, usually so visible, are aided by Mother Nature’s white shroud?
Is it really that much harder stooping down into a snow bank than onto a lawn to retrieve the poop?
Is it the fact that maybe you can feel like a rebel: "My dog pooped and I’m not doing ANYTHING about it"?
Whatever IT is, I’m beginning to get a bit tired of the first signs of spring being the inevitable sight of half-melted doggy-do lining the trails in the Beechgrove Complex.
Maybe it’s because I’m not really a dog person.
I like the IDEA of owning a dog, a well-tempered "Lab" or Border Collie named Rex fetching my slippers or lying in front of the stone fireplace whilst I sit in my overstuffed leather chair, reading Wodehouse or Christie and sipping sherry.
However, in real life, I find most dogs to be yappy and slobbery and just…too much like work to keep. And I think I speak for many semi-non-dog people when I say, " if it’s too disgusting to clean up after your own dog, why should WE have to deal with it three months down the road?"
And, the whole "ick" factor of feces-infested public property aside, there is the whole health issue to deal with. I’m sure someone can state that having all this "stuff" melt into the ground and run into storm drains poses no added health hazard to us, but personally I think it’s just one more thing maxing out our water treatment services.
I’m sure we can all find a common ground about this issue.
Hopefully, not one littered with poop.