Picking Up Some Dog Trash

The dogs have been back pulling their favorite toys from the youngest of the Blue Jay Barrens archaeological sites.  I usually just gather up their litter and put it back near the edge of the junk pile.  I finally got tired of picking up the same items each month, so I took a paper feed sack back to gather up those pieces that are continually relocated.  I just can’t understand why those stray dogs put so much effort into dragging this stuff around.

This seems to be the dog’s all time favorite bit of debris.  I’ve found the shoe as far as 200 feet from the pile.  The last dog managed to make two pieces out of it. 

There are several fresh doggie tooth marks in the heel.  This must be a good tasting piece of plastic.

Plastic bottles are another favorite.  Most of the plastic has turned brittle over the years.  The dogs chew the bottles into small bits that can be aggravating to collect.

This aluminum casing from an old radio tube was carried away, but not chewed.  A previous owner of this property worked in a TV and Radio repair shop.  He regularly brought home old TV sets and radio chassis.  Some of this stuff was dumped over the hill and the rest was left sitting around the barn yard.

The dogs couldn’t get the cap off of this whiskey bottle.  It doesn’t look like the contents are all that appetizing.  I used to have a dog that could have chewed up this bottle and eaten the broken glass.  He was like the old stereotype goat that would eat tin cans.  His droppings used to sparkle in the sunlight.

Raised letters warn that “Federal law forbids sale or reuse of this bottle”.  That warning was required on liquor bottles from the end of Prohibition until 1964.  I guess the dogs weren’t aware that they could wind up in Leavenworth for turning the bottle into a toy.

Dogs and Trash

I can now say that I’ve seen a bear and a moose in the fields of Blue Jay Barrens. The local dogs take all the credit for leaving this bit of trash for me.

I guess it’s not unusual for people to have trouble with dogs getting in the trash. The confusing thing is why they would be interested in trash that’s over 25 years old. This stuff was left by the previous owner and for the most part, was here long before I bought the property. Every month or two I walk by and find that the dogs have once again raided the trash pile and scattered debris in a great circle around the field.

It’s no surprise that they would be interested in this old shoe sole. Dogs have been chewing on people’s shoes for as long as there have been shoes. Even a 25 year old shoe would still taste good.

Pieces of glass jar seem to be odd bits for a dog to carry around, but pieces like this are a dog favorite. Is it possible that the odor of food still clings to the glass after over 25 years of weathering?

The dogs must have had great fun dismantling this plastic bag. I wonder if a little tug-of-war took place. The printing on the bag was quite faded, but the plastic was still pliable. The bag must have been made in the days when plastics were not meant to degrade. The bag came from some hospital in Dayton, but I couldn’t find the piece that had the hospital name on it.

The bits are collected from the field and set back with the rest of the trash. Eventually, I’ll bag this stuff up and get rid of it. Cleaning up this archaeological site isn’t a priority right now. When the dogs are really active, I’ll clean up the lose stuff so it doesn’t blow or wash away. Actually cleaning up the junk takes me a lot of time because I become more interested in examining all of the strange things I find than in quickly cleaning up.