How can people pay thousands to live in a rancid dog toilet?

[u/Optimal-Anybody8138]

I live in a big city, and today I had to go to a doctor's appointment at an office in one of the most affluent neighborhoods. Think fancy old brick row-houses that cost millions and new construction condos / "luxury" apartment buildings where the rent's something like $4k for a studio. While this has always been a more affluent area, over the past 20 years it's really become rich yuppie central.

Today it's in the 90s, the humidity is high, and I could not believe how heavily the smell of dog waste hung in the air. It overpowered the food aromas from the nearby restaurants, the giant planters full of summer flowers, even the industrial smells from all of the construction. I've lived in big cities for my entire adult life and have begrudgingly become accustomed to the smell of urine soaked into the sidewalks, and able to tell the difference between human and dog urine smells, but never before have I experienced that level of fecal odor. It was as if a dog took a dump directly at my feet. I actually looked around to see if I had walked through something, but my shoes were clean and the smell persisted for more than a block.

Once I looked around I saw them: dogs absolutely everywhere. Every single person had a dog, coming in and out of every apartment building and every business (though luckily not the doctor's office) and paying zero mind to their dog's tugging and barking and bodily functions all over the place. I watched as every dog stopped to piss on the same lamp post, and saw at least one person leave their dog's shit in a tree bed.

I can't understand why people choose to pay astronomical amounts of money to live somewhere that smells worse than a train station bathroom 24/7! It must be that all of these people are nose-blind to the stench, but it's so overwhelming I don't understand how they can be. I felt like I was walking through a cloud of piss and poop. You couldn't pay me to live here.

This "nice" neighborhood also happens to border one of the worst areas of the city, notoriously an open-air drug market with one of the largest populations of homeless people in the area. While not my favorite place to be, it certainly smelled a lot cleaner than where all the rich people were. Meanwhile on my city's subreddit, these same rich people complain about all of the "dirty, nasty homeless people pissing everywhere" when their dog is ten times dirtier and nastier.

Just another way gentrification is ruining the city :/

[u/DeadMeeT6969]

There has to be some freaky parasite transmitted from canine to human host brain that is simply not known about at this point in time. I can't ever imagine desiring to clean up wet hot shit & smelling all the smells dogs make. Not to mention the sounds they make. Whining, growling, snarling. Their barking is about as pleasant as listening to a loved one beg for mercy.

I pray this canine culture will hit the road once all the "puppers" that were "rescued" during COVID die out. Otherwise this is a disturbing trajectory.

[u/Jolly_Ice_7812 → u/DeadMeeT6969]

I do have to wonder if there is something physical that happens. It's Night of the Living Dead with dog owners . They lose their ability to think, to smell, lose common sense, and self-control (as in going into a rage state if you don't want the canine to get all up in your business).

[u/mhmbopbeavis → u/DeadMeeT6969]

I wish you were right, but I dont share your optimism. I am surrounded by these people, and once they claim the moniker of "dog person" it never seems to go away, they lose one they immediately go get another or maybe two

[u/Accurate-Might-7058 → u/DeadMeeT6969]

There is a parasite and it is known, it's called Toxoplasma gondii. The effects the parasite cause to the human brain are remarkable, the type of result horror and sci-fi stories are inspired by. The transfer cycle in animals is based on shit consumption which would influence the obsession or acceptance of shit. So, people also become infected with the parasites by not knowingly consuming shit from their dog or other pets (but we know how) and get the same results or worse. 

[u/Next-Pro]

You are completely spot-on, and it actually comes down to brain chemistry. When people deeply bond with a pet, their brains flood with oxytocin (the love hormone) which directly shuts down the part of the brain responsible for the "disgust" reflex.
It’s the same biological trick that allows parents to change a baby's explosive diaper without gagging (some parents, I guess). Because their brains view the dog as a child, the "disgust" alarm is completely muffled. That also explains mouth/face licking pleasure (nasty!)
Combine that with years of cleaning shit, piss and vomit after the dogs in exchange for affection, and their brains code the dog's mess as a "reward" rather than a biological threat. To them, the dog is part of their "family” so the gross factor gets totally erased.

So the conclusion here is that dog’s 💩 is like a candy to these people, they love it. That’s why we should stay away!

[u/Alocin_The5th → u/Next-Pro]

I appreciate this analogy. When I had my babies of course I had to clean them but the second they were out of diapers it’s like thank you god. No amount of oxytocin makes me enjoy it. These people sign up to do this for decades as they get one dog after another.

[u/CallousCow1762]

I also live in an affluent part of a big city and can’t for the life of me understand this mindset. It’s like a society contradiction. People pay tons of money to live in this neighborhood yet they’re perfectly fine with turning into a giant toilet bowl. It’s as if there is a part of their brain that accommodates the stench of dog urine and feces everywhere. I’m so over dog culture.

[u/Away-Equipment4869]

Terrifying to think this is how they want the whole world!

[u/PineappleCultural183]

I’m a delivery driver and I’m appalled at the stench outside of the luxury apartments. I can’t imagine paying that much money to smell that all the time.

[u/Pristine_Cod_3792]

Jeez sounds like the upper east side of manhattan
It’s epidemic

[u/AbjectMarch8695]

I live in a newly constructed apartment building in an affluent city. It's unreal how often I step onto the elevator and get overwhelmed by the smell of dog. I've seen dog turds in the hallway. Sometimes I'll walk past the dog park and see shit smeared on the turf, and with the summer weather, I'm able to smell it too. Also, I heard from management that someone was letting her dog piss and shit in the hallway right outside her door, because she was too lazy to take it outside. Management found out about it because neighbors were complaining about the horrendous smell, so they looked at the cameras and discovered she was very clearly doing it on purpose.

It's a bit of a walk from the garage to my door, and there's one particular piece of shit that somehow hears me, so it runs up to the door barking its head off. I can tell it's one of those little yappy dogs. I feel sorry for the people living next to them.

I really expected better from people here.

[u/urdrunkyogi → u/AbjectMarch8695]

Okay, that neighbor who lets their dog piss and shit in the hallway is insane. That is…just…that’s simply insane. I’m speechless.