We all love Reston Town Center. It’s a great spot to walk and dog watch, but the maintenance staff goes a little overboard on the rock salt, so much so that we avoid the place in the winter time. Perhaps the stores have so much money that they don’t need our business.
Unfortunately, the sidewalks at the Reston Town Center are often completely covered in rock salt during the cold months. Those little pieces of rock salt are like land mines to our paws. If you are unfortunate and happen to land on the salt, a paw could blow up and with a nasty burning sensation. With so much salt on the ground, you are forced to walk in a zig-zag pattern, hoping to find the next salt free area. When the sidewalk is completely covered in rock salt, there’s no other choice but to walk in the street, which isn’t safe.
Spreading too much rock salt makes it difficult for us to casually stroll around the mall and window shop. It’s not fair to be kept away from peeking in the enticing stores. Avoiding the rock salt becomes the focus, and that kills the window shopping and dog watching. It’s tough to look cool when all of your focus is on where you step. You end up looking a little crazy, so everyone avoids you.
We’ve found doggie boots don’t work and waxing isn’t a complete solution. Last week, Ernie emailed about some doggie socks so I reminded him that he’s a terrier and that wouldn’t be a good look.
We always have to wash our paws after walking in the areas covered in rock salt. If we lick our paws and ingest any of this rock salt into our system, we could be in pretty rough shape and probably headed to the hospital. This stuff is also terrible for the environment.
In the winter months, we have to stick to the parks and avoid these heavily salted areas. Once the warmer weather arrives and the rock salt has been removed, we return to the Reston Town Center for the outdoor festivals and events.
Petsmart is the leading retailer in the pet industry. They claim that “the health and safety of our associates, pets and customers is a top priority as is the safety and care of our pets. Caring for pets is more than our job, it’s a moral obligation and responsibility.” The use of rock salt at the nearby Petsmart store is difficult to understand and sends the wrong message to its customers. We understand the need to make sure nobody slips in the icy weather, but sand is much better alternative to rock salt because its pet friendly.
Why is it so difficult to put down sand to melt the snow?
Leave a Reply