How the Government Shutdown is Affecting our Pets

First of all, it's not. At least not in my world in Cleveland, OH. The parks I go to are still open, minus the Cuyahoga Valley National Park (but let's be honest, I rarely made the trek down there) and doggie daycare is still available while I travel during this busy October. My government issue moreso had to do with the city not doing its doggy duty - literally. Below is the tragic scene in the park outside my apartment last Wednesday:

Typically, this would be stocked with unused bags and the used ones wouldn't be spilling out into the environment. At first I was worried that this was a result of the federal government shutdown, thanks to some comments by a neighbor who is not a native to the U.S. This man's child was playing in the grass, so after Woody did his business, I apologized for not cleaning up and said that normally I don't have to worry about bringing my own bags across the street. His response: "Is this because your government is not open?"

Nice.

Fortunately, my first-world situation was resolved by Friday morning, a little later than normal, but nothing dire. Hopefully our federal government can get its act together by this Friday. All of the s*** that's been piling up on Capitol Hill is really starting to stink.