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The Dog Poop Initiative

This book was inspired by an event that took place in the summer of my life as a soccer coach and dad. My family and I showed up to the soccer field where my five-year-old son was going to play, and as the two previous teams finished up. As our boys gathered, some helpful parents from the already playing teams pointed out a large pile of Dog Poop on the field, and warned us to point it out to our boys. A few moments later, the coaches of the departing teams also pointed out the poop, and gave us the same admonition. Next came the referees assigned to the field for the evening, who told us the same thing! After this third warning, my son’s other coach and I looked at each other and, without saying a word, turned and went to separate trash cans on the field in search of something we could use to scoop up the poop. We found a large piece of cardboard, and had it cleaned off the field in less than a minute. I still remember some of the dumbfounded and bewildered expressions of the "Adults" who had so helpfully pointed it out – but who, apparently, had never considered actually cleaning it up! As I viewed all the parents that lined the field, and pondered all the parents and coaches who had been there throughout the day – each one dutifully and diligently passing along the "Poop Warning" – I marveled that NONE had taken the initiative to clean it UP! What an opportunity to teach, by example, the important principles of service, teamwork, selflessness, and INITIATIVE. In my mind’s eye I could envision each of these adults ten to fifteen years in the future, lamenting how their own teenagers don’t take initiative nor even understand what it is! Sadly, I would guess that even then, it will not occur to these "pointing parents" that a large portion of what their teenagers don’t do is a direct result of never having seen their parents do it. My rough calculations put the estimate at a potential 220 plus Adult Poop Pointers – and only 2 Poop Scoopers! With the Initiative Bar so low, those of us who are willing to take it end up looking like high jumpers. But what an opportunity to show our children how they, too, can effect change by taking initiative! As I relayed this story to colleagues and friends, I found that a tremendous amount of people are just as upset, or more so, as I am with the lack of initiative in society. The ever-growing mindset of "It’s not my job," or "Someone else will do it," plays itself out all too often in myriads of ways that impact each of us on a daily basis. The response to the story was so strong that I included it in my next few speaking engagements. Some people even told of using the story in staff meetings. All that led to final publication of The Dog Poop Initiative. I hope you enjoy it!

Paperback: 24 pages

Publisher: Team Dynamics, Inc; Fifth edition (March 28, 2005)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 1932280839

ISBN-13: 978-1932280838

Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 8 x 0.2 inches

Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (50 customer reviews)

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Unlike that critical commenter, i.e. RS Cobblestone, I applaud someone who writes about finding ways to improve our immediate community, encouraging kids to find immediate solutions they can apply. I used this book to launch an initiative program in our class.The point of the book is NOT that the author is proud of having picked up poop, as this earlier naysayer reviewer mentioned, but that he used an everyday example to motivate kids to fix the problem. "Are you a pointer or a doer?" It really makes the kids think about the point of complaining when a solution is available... One that even adults couldn’t see…Don't get me wrong: I love books with humour! But I'm tired of frilly books that are only written to make kids laugh or sponsored by Big Brands marketing companies to encourage us to buy more things...Contrary to what you are saying, RS Cobblestone, Weisler is not the one trying to make the issue complex: YOU ARE! He actually simplified it so that even idiots like you could understand it, but obviously, the "pooper-scooper" example was lost on you, even in its simplicity... Why do you have to go and wreck the idea of encouraging kids to see problems and have initiative?Weisler chose to write about a simple event... We don't need your big environmental schpeel about SUVs or anti-obesity snarky remarks about the chances of becoming obese by drinking Gatorade AFTER a soccer game (not while sitting on a couch playing video games for 12 hours…) Weisler is addressing kids, not parents... So that perhaps in the future, they don't grow up to be idiots like you who can't see the morale of a story for what it is: Take care of the environment in any way you can at your age...

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