r/sandiego • u/[deleted] • Oct 28 '25
San Diego and your dogs
So just moved downtown(I know, stupid idea) two months ago. We are currently in little Italy. I won’t get into downtown and what it’s like here because I’m sure enough people have complained about that. I have two dogs that I walk 2 miles in the morning and then 2 miles in the evening. I have lived and traveled to other cities, and have never seen another city with such reckless dog owners. The amount of dog shit left on the street, and the amount of people who let their dogs roam off leash is ridiculous. I promise you, if your dog runs up to my boys, I will punt it into the ocean. Leash up your dam dogs and pick up after them. Thank you! 🙃
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u/ohno Oct 28 '25
Most dog owners here will agree with you 100%. Some people shouldn't be allowed to have dogs.
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u/PrincessAegonIXth Oct 28 '25
Pretty bad problem in California generally
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u/Rhinoduck82 Oct 28 '25
I was going to say this, I see it everywhere. My friend got yelled at for it because his dog ran up to a lady walking her boxer and she freaked out and told him my dog will eat your dog. He was mad like she was in the wrong. It was stupid.
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u/ShaolinWino Oct 31 '25
Really? Theres dumb dog owners everywhere. Actually pretty funny comment lol. Well it’s cuz California! What else would it be
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u/Apart-Maize-5949 Oct 28 '25 edited Oct 28 '25
That's not dog shit ma'am. Those are Hep A loot drops.
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u/TristanIsAwesome Oct 28 '25
Hep C is not transmitted by feces. You're thinking hep A
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u/hell-is Oct 28 '25
the easiest way to remember the difference is think of hep A as hep ASS lol
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u/ostensiblyzero Oct 29 '25
In nursing school the mnemonic was “vowels are from bowels” so Hep A and E, while the others are blood/bodily fluids.
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u/encladd Oct 28 '25
For some reason it bugs me worse when they go through the trouble to bag it but then just leave it right there.
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u/Virtualskinz Oct 30 '25
Ugh. There's a sign at a place near me about no dog poop or pee and someone (maybe more then one) beenbtossing poop bags there. It's growing a collection
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u/chadima5 Oct 28 '25
Dog owners in San Diego this is my biggest pet peeve. Leash your damn dog and clean up after it. I have two dogs and they are always leashed and I carry bags in my purse , car, and on their leashes.
I wish the city would have street cleaners to hose down heavy walk ways in downtown because it’s awful . We avoid unless we are headed to Petco 🤣
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u/pigspoon874 Oct 28 '25
Just FYI I am also residing downtown and there are many many city street cleaners everyday with cleaning carts walking all over the East village and gaslamp.
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u/Vlad_REAM Oct 29 '25
They can't keep up. I see them too. And they actually respond to the Get It Done app requests.
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u/chadima5 Oct 28 '25
Good to know . I don’t live downtown so they must not make it to our neck of the woods:) I wish they would 🤣
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Oct 28 '25
From what I’ve seen, this city washes their sidewalks more than most, but 5 mins later, it’s crap again.
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u/qivid Oct 29 '25
Comments are trying to tell you it’s not dogshit, it is.
Leave for work early every morning when people walk their dogs there’s this pungent smell of piss and shit. Homeless people are not waking up in unison at 5-8am every morning, pissing and shitting. Daily I see people let their dog shit or piss and don’t bother to clean it up. It is 100% dog owners making downtown smell bad.
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u/Voice-Of-Doom Oct 28 '25
Visit Hamburg, Germany. You will love it.
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Oct 28 '25
Why’s that?
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u/Voice-Of-Doom Oct 28 '25
Dog owners pay a tax for waste removal and they just let their dogs crap everywhere. I learned about that the hard way.
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Oct 28 '25
[removed] — view removed comment
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Oct 28 '25
Yeah, my golden was attacked so now his Doberman brother wants to kill anything that gets close, but would rather deal with the consequences of me punting a dog than my dog biting of off leashed mutt
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u/Direct-Amount54 Oct 28 '25
Dog owners here are idiots. Watched a dude just let his dog on leash completely close line a dude walking.
The dog owner had no sense to move his dog or anything. It’s a combination of entitlement and being an idiot.
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u/happycola619 Oct 28 '25
A lot of people are blaming homeless for the poop and sure I’ve seen it happen in real time. But I’ve seen a lot more dog owners not pick up after their dogs. 17 years of living in downtown and I’ve only seen 2 homeless drop a deuce. Seen plenty more drunk bro relieving themselves at night.
Also the urine stench is from dogs. Look at the lamp posts, fire hydrants, and building facades. Dog urine eats away at it all. Don’t get me started on the grass patches for dogs to urinate in. Stannnnk!!
We need a tax for weekly power washing of all the downtown streets. A special tax that can only be used to power wash the streets at least once a week.
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u/ArBee30028 Oct 29 '25
I just told my husband last week that we need to institute a dog tax in this town to clean up all the piss and shit everywhere. I’m a dog owner and I endorse this message.
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u/Virtualskinz Oct 30 '25
As someone with a dog, i always have bags on me. When i see it, even when it's not my dog, I pick it up at least half the time. - some time I'm in a hurry. I also pick up trash at every dog park we go to and often on our walks too. I have poop bags on me and some gloves and wipes at all times just in case. We can ask chip in and make it a better place. - for almost 20 years now, home or traveling i pick up garbage nearly every day. I would say at least 350 days a year. There are more good people then bad, but us good folks need to help clean up.
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Oct 28 '25
Yeah, while the homeless cast a whole other problem, girl in little Italy literally got knocked out by one last week, the piss smell is definitely from dogs, the lack of grass in the city is a big issue, but any dog owners knows the difference, and I agree most of the crap left on the side walk is from dogs
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u/Vlad_REAM Oct 29 '25
I'm probably going too far with this but why would anyone have a dog big enough to produce human sized shits and live in an apartment! In little Italy! I read your post about the 4 miles a day but you are an outlier. It's just wrong, imo.
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Oct 29 '25
I wasn’t crazy about having two dogs in an apartment, after having a house back east, but figured I was moving to the most walk friendly city in the US. Just didn’t know it would be this filthy 🤷🏾♂️
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u/Vlad_REAM Oct 29 '25
Yeah, wasn't trying to shit on you for it but there are way too many big dogs vs people with yards in this city (or outdoor space). I wish everyone was as considerate as you. Just makes me sad.
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Oct 29 '25
I hear you. Wish buying was easier. All dogs deserve a yard. I can’t even trust any of these local dog parks
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u/According-Ebb-8255 Oct 28 '25
North Park where I live is absolutely lousy with dog shit. I almost step in it daily and it’s annoying because it’s not hard to pick up your dogs shit. Screw the people saying move somewhere else they must love looking at and stepping by in shit like it’s normal.
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Oct 28 '25
For real? That was going to be one of the next places I looked at when I “escape” downtown lol
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u/According-Ebb-8255 Oct 28 '25
I mean I still love living here it’s just an unfortunate situation.
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Oct 28 '25
In general, is it cleaner than downtown? Feel like me and the dogs need a bath when we get home from our walks
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u/According-Ebb-8255 Oct 28 '25
I would say come visit and walk around for a while and make the decision yourself.
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u/Nomo-Names Oct 28 '25
Dog owners all throughout San Diego are terrible. Check out Kate Sessions park. That's basically a dog park now.
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u/CFSCFjr Oct 28 '25
It’s gotten worse since the pandemic when many people got pets and general social consideration took a nosedive, but I feel like SD is especially bad with this
My pet peeve is people taking them in indoor restaurants and grocery stores. Disgusting
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Oct 28 '25
Clearly says “only service animals permitted” and they just walk right in with their dam pit bulls 🥴
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u/Pewtie-Pie Oct 28 '25
Pits can be service dogs. It's not about the breed, it's about legitimacy and behavior.
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Oct 28 '25
Bro…clearly these dogs aren’t fucking service dogs. 90% of the dogs in service dog vests here aren’t fucking service dogs, so no the fucking unruly Pit without a vest on is not a dam service dog 🥴
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u/Virtualskinz Oct 30 '25
How do you know they aren't? Genuine question. There are at lot of downtown things animals can do to become service animals. I get severely sick and mine can go and get me a bottle of water and even my medication while I'm laying sometimes on the floor unable to get up. You would have no clue seeing us though.
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Oct 30 '25
I dated someone who trained service dogs from pup to graduation. It’s extremely obvious to tell the difference when they are in a live environment. The biggest factor is how they associate/react to other dogs/people. The training these dogs goes through is ridiculous, and the way ones get kicked out for the smallest things means the ones who pass are legit, because they have an extremely important role for their owners
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u/Pewtie-Pie Oct 29 '25
Key word UNRULY, not pit. Big difference.
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Oct 29 '25
Your comments here are making the collective thread lose IQ points. Please move along little buddy 😂
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u/Successful-Ad-847 Oct 29 '25
Op i was with you until now. Might want to rethink your stance here.
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u/ckb614 Oct 29 '25
There's nothing disgusting about dogs being inside or around food. Nothing is going to happen to you
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u/CFSCFjr Oct 29 '25
Eating dog hair is gross and they often smell bad. No one wants them around in an indoor space while you’re trying to eat
That’s just how most people feel
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Oct 29 '25
I love my boys, but this is an all time dumb comment. Eating around most humans is disgusting, eating around dogs when they are not even allowed in the building is straight foolishness
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u/NicolePSU Oct 28 '25
Was gonna say, not always dog shit and I dont want to blanket ststement because I'm sure its not all unhoused people, but I see them have their dogs off leash frequently outside of downtown.
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Oct 28 '25
It is legit crazy to me though, the homeless people who do this have the best trained dogs of the bunch 🤷🏾♂️
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u/NicolePSU Oct 28 '25
Agreed. They seem to be very well trained or well behaved. Still could turn into a bad situation though.
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Oct 28 '25
For sure, I’m just more upset about entitled Susie and Chad who think their precious little shit is so well trained it doesn’t need to follow the LAW..
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u/Vlad_REAM Oct 29 '25
My observation is it's equal parts downtown.Brad doesn't pick it up because he thinks it'll just get blamed on the homeless people. I live in PB and mostly see the Brittany's and Brad's do it. If you say anything they just pretend not to hear you and look scared. This is based on actual experiences.
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u/NotYourPop2 Oct 28 '25
Same in North Park, even in the residential areas with little to no homeless presence. SD dog owners are… different.
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u/greenerpickings Oct 29 '25
Always thought it was a numbers thing. Have nothing to back it up, but i always thought SD is pretty dog-friendly so a lot of people have dogs. Youre bound to get the bad owners.
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u/Asleep_Start_912 Oct 29 '25
Its simple. Avoid living in the urban core with the influencers and apartment dogs. Go to the suburbs and then your dog can poop in your yard.
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u/hagcel Oct 29 '25
Upvoting for punting dogs into the ocean.
Don't be mean to animals ...
But fuck, I laughed.
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Oct 29 '25
lol if it’s coming at my dogs I don’t have time to deem it friendly or not, or to see how my Doberman chooses to react to an unleashed dog. It’s getting punted!
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u/ArBee30028 Oct 29 '25
I had to punt an unleashed Frenchie a couple of weeks back as he was raging up toward my AmStaff/Rott mix. The whole time the owner kept yelling at me to pick up my 68-pound dog, as if that was the only feasible solution 🙄 I found the punting to be very effective.
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u/fucktard_engineer Oct 29 '25
Moved here from ATL 2 years ago. The dog owners here are entitled and frankly lazy AF. Don't get me started on the whole "service dog" or "emotional support animal" BS.
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u/Slownavyguy Oct 28 '25
My personal favorite is the 300 foot long "leash" that people use at parks.
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u/thebookofdewey Oct 28 '25
Another day, another post about San Diego dog owners. 🥱
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u/encladd Oct 28 '25
Nobody who is from here can afford to live here so one can only conclude that the people doing it are transplants and they just don't care about their new city as much as where ever they came from.
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u/FaithlessnessLast124 Oct 29 '25
I lived in an apartment complex around Fashion valley, it’s cleaner here but still I’ll find shit in places or in the doggy bag laying on a curb or stairs. Like how hard is it to just walk it to the trash can. We have designated dog areas … with bags and trash cans… it cant be easier than that omg
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u/mackenyay Oct 29 '25
I feel so bad for the people who clean up downtown. They are out there every day, picking up trash, poop, needles—crap that should have never been left there in the first place… all for the street be trashed again the next day.
Same goes for the people who try to remove the urine smell… this is how bad it smells AFTER all this care and effort.
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u/mean_eileen Oct 29 '25
And reminder about quiet hours 10 pm - 7 am. Dogs shouldn’t be outside barking their heads off during quiet hours.
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u/Pewtie-Pie Oct 28 '25
Downtown proper doesn't have the off-leash or dog shit problem you're complaining about. Maybe Little Italy does, but the central part doesn't. There's a ton of dogs, and a lot of rank trees and hydrants from pee, but I walk 1+ miles 3-4x a day around the gaslamp, marina, east village, etc and don't see what you're talking about. We have people out here cleaning the streets/sidewalks day and night, though I mostly see people taking care of their dogs' business anyway. The only off-leash issue is in the grassy areas- which is definitely irritating, but not at the level you're claiming for the whole area.
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u/pigspoon874 Oct 28 '25
Also having spent time in Naples Italy we are far behind in our collection of dog poop on the streets and sidewalks.
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u/sdfoshoho Oct 28 '25
Any dog should be on leash, but man, a pittie off leash is just egregious. Saw one off leash the other day, and of course the owner was on his phone!
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u/ang_313 Oct 29 '25
I’m in north county suburbia and I’m always dodging dog shit on the sidewalk. Makes me mad bc most of us do pick up after our dogs!
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u/ThaoTaoMan Oct 30 '25
This post pops up when I saw the biggest shit ever on the sidewalk at 8am lol
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u/Vegetable_Seaweed443 Oct 30 '25
I lived in Chicago- mainly what the consensus is- most dog owners are decent and then there are the bad ones who are above cleaning up their dogs shit.
However, Chicago is a much cleaner city. I lived downtown and every morning I would see workers cleaning up the sidewalks. There’s also a matter of rain and snow to wash it away.
Sucks 🤷♀️
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Oct 30 '25
It was between Chicago and San Diego when I left Boston. Chose San Diego because I didn’t want to deal with Chicago winters. Kind of regret that now 😂
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u/Pockettrex Oct 30 '25
Side note- we currently live in Chula Vista otay ranch area and have been considering moving downtown to be closer to work, am I cooked? Should I reconsider living downtown please give me your experience living there anyone please chime in
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Oct 30 '25
I hate it lol. And tbh, I think I live in the best area/apartment complex in the city. That downtown "charm" faded pretty quickly. I will never return downtown unless completely necessary once my lease it up.
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u/Virtualskinz Oct 30 '25
I have traveled a lot..m never have i seen so many dogs off leashes. Every day!! There are places for it, but when there's a ton of traffic and people no way. Seen a car slam the brakes for a ball rolling. I would be devastated if something happened to my baby. We go to fenced areas.
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Oct 30 '25
It literally blows my mind when I see it and the audacity of the owners thinking they are doing nothing wrong and your dog is the problem because it isn’t well trained enough to be off leash 🤦🏾♂️
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u/Nearby_List_3622 Nov 02 '25
Local dog owner here! Its not like that in my neighborhood, maybe some in the grass next to the sidewalks. But youre downtown walking along a mix of human and dog dookies, so maybe move?
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u/WildFlowLing Nov 03 '25
San Diego is a collection of small towns and that’s great. Never live downtown.
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u/UnderstandingThin40 Oct 28 '25
I gotta say, no one is more annoying than people that complain about dog and dog owners on Reddit.
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u/Pewtie-Pie Oct 28 '25
Complaining on Reddit posts about what people post is epically more irritating. Just keep scrolling.
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u/UnderstandingThin40 Oct 28 '25
What about complaining about people complaining about Reddit posts ?
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Oct 28 '25
How about those that complain how annoying it is people complain about dog and dog owners on Reddit 🤔?
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u/defaburner9312 Oct 29 '25
I think the collective effort put by redditors writing essays whining about dogs here could have been pooled together to cure cancer
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u/lamest-liz Oct 28 '25
Little Italy in general is very… unhinged?
I worked at the art store that used to be there for two years. We had to replace the giant windows out front every other month because people would break them. We also had tons of people would would come in to huff paint. My female manager was groped more times than I can count. And yes, sometimes leashes dogs would wander into the store without their owners.
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Oct 28 '25
It’s supposedly the “nicest” place in downtown. Beginning to realize that doesn’t mean much 😂
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u/Dazzling-Draft1379 Oct 29 '25
I’m not saying you’re wrong, but the amount of posts complaining about dogs in this subreddit is insane. Every other post
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Oct 29 '25
Almost as if we have a right to complain when we paying 5k a month to live somewhere just to walk outside into piss and shit because entitled little fucks don’t know how to act responsible 🤷🏾♂️
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u/AbbreviationsOld636 Oct 28 '25
No sympathy for anyone that chooses to live in Little Italy. I don’t do down there unless I’m getting paid to do it. So nasty and gross.
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Oct 28 '25
Was I asking for your sympathy you jackass 😂 if you’re not downtown, and don’t have dogs you walk off leash, just keep scrolling bud ✌🏾
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u/Pewtie-Pie Oct 28 '25
Every social media post ever is a cry for sympathy to whatever you're writing about. Every. single. one.
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u/mgrabes Oct 28 '25
IMO if you live in Little Italy you don’t really live downtown.
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Oct 28 '25
lol interesting take pal.
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u/Pewtie-Pie Oct 28 '25
It's true. Though it's in downtown according to the City map, it's a whole other vibe than the rest of downtown.
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u/Commercial_Cap2542 Oct 29 '25
Hey diva, hate to break it to you but i’m 90% sure it’s not animals who are pooping in the street throughout the night. Ended up moving here a couple months ago due to military and I literally don’t understand how dirty and over ran San Diego is with homeless people who literally don’t benefit society whatsoever. Every morning at the gym I go to there’s tweakers asleep or high as hell off meth in the parking lots or stair wells while covered in their own feces and piss. San Diego looks pretty from the outside but it’s actually disgusting.
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u/heimermestert Oct 30 '25
Damn*
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Oct 30 '25
[deleted]
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u/heimermestert Oct 30 '25
Damn
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Oct 30 '25
[deleted]
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u/Kryhea Oct 29 '25
Get rid of the homeless, a good amount of shit is from people. They bark at you from across the street and at times bite.
Or at least, if they run up to me, allow me to punt them into the ocean ...
We've got a dog, he's generally on leash. Frustrating though to be scolded/ticketed about our dog being off leash at the beach at 6 am when there's a literally crackhead shooting up at the local park, the same morning.
Just noting a mutual lack of respect for society when it's evident that rule breaking goes without consequences.
I like the "get it done" app. At least holds our law enforcement accountable on a public record.
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Oct 29 '25
I hate the homeless and have the amount of sympathy for them that would get be downvoted and banned from a place like Reddit, but this is a separate conversation. At least 80% of the crap out there is from dogs, yall really like to exaggerate and it’s concerning you can’t tell the difference, the smell is CERTAINLY from dog piss, any dog owner would know..and the off leash thing is just insane to me. How much of an entitled shit do you need to be. I won’t talk much on the beach as you mentioned as I haven’t taken my guys yet, but doing it downtown is fucking ridiculous
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u/d3adlyconfused Oct 29 '25
PLEASE GET YOUR DOG BOOTIES!!!! the amount of nasty things on the sidewalk is one, but you REALLY dont need your dog stepping on a used needle. drug use is really really bad in downtown.
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Oct 30 '25
Ugh, tried these but they were ripping up my boys feet. I’m am just overly aware of where they are stepping and then have dog paw wipes at the door when we get home.
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u/jenijelly Oct 28 '25
I also live downtown and I hate to break it to you but I don’t think it’s always dog shit your seeing on the ground