ALL THINGS BRIGHT AND POO-TIFUL

IRRESPONSIBLE DOG OWNERS - A MESS-AGE TO YOU

MONDAY morning 8.30 , you're on the school run and wondering why the person in front of you is doing the Ministry of Silly Walks.

But no , the world hasn’t suddenly gone ” Pythonesque ” it’s just that although we should be admiring the beautiful colours of spring they’ve just fallen foul of a pavement that's 50 shades of brown.

For while the majority of dog owners are responsible there are still a few who lack the basic etiquette in picking up after their pooch even when provided with one of over 700 dog litter bins in Medway.

If you recall, we were encouraged to start scooping the poop in 1996 when the Dog Fouling Act first came into place. The reason behind it being that scientists had discovered that dog/cat faeces had been found to contain the roundworm parasite which can cause Toxocariasis. An infection which if caught by humans could cause headaches, nausea, stomach pains and serious eye disorders that can last for 6-24 months. Just one single dog poo can contain up to at least 1 million microscopic roundworm eggs and these in turn can live for up to 2 years in soil which makes it one of the biggest carriers of the parasite as the poo degrades into it. For humans to contract Toxocariasis they have to come into contact with and ingest infected soil/sand such as that in kids play areas but it can be caught through direct contact with dogs/cats or inanimate objects as well such as shoe soles and pram/buggy wheels. So remember kids when mum tells you to wash your hands and wipe your feet , she's got a good reason for it !

kb.keepbritaintidy.org/dogs/publications/guidedog.pdf 

So that description of the consequences of not picking up after your animal should be enough to turn the stomach of even the hardiest of irresponsible dog owners and make them change their ways but sadly that's not the case.

I mean maybe I was a Womble in a former life but when one of my sons (as a toddler I hasten to add !) decided to crouch down on a packed beach in Broadstairs and take a massive dump on the edge of the seashore my first thought was to grab something to clear it up. So what is the problem with these people who feel that it's not their responsibility to pick up after their " little darlings". 

 On a short walk to the shops recently I lost count of the amount of times I had to shout ' look out ' to make sure my boys didn't step in various piles of faeces en route.
Some are just mere yards apart as if the dog and owner are laying a trail to find their way back home in a bizarre ' Hansel and Gretel ' parody.

And then of course we also have the 'part time' responsible dog owner , yeah you know who I'm talking about. The ones who think they are being good because they've bagged it up but when there's no bin in sight chuck it on the ground or even worse up in a tree or bush like some twisted and macabre Christmas decoration.

 In the freezing temperatures we've been having recently you'd think they'd appreciate having something warm in their pockets till they can dispose of it but hey ho......
(Incidentally after taking the photo above I turned round to walk away and stuck my size five boot straight into a big pile of the offending stuff we are talking about. The irony of the situation was not lost on me although my sense of humour did take leave for a few seconds!)

A common line you hear from the non picker uppers is that they didn't have a bag on them . That's a bit lame if you ask me, there are a couple of reasons you take your dog out for a walk, one is exercise and the other ? Well ,that's the thing you need the bag for, it's a bit of  a no brainer really. It doesn't have to be a fancy doggy poo bag ,baby nappy sacks, sandwich bags or a normal carrier will do the job just as well ( although you might want to look out for the holes in supermarket bags ! ). And seeing as you can also pick up bags from libraries and other community hubs you've really got no reason to not have one about your person.

Next up  " there was no bin for me to put it in " . Granted , at times there is some distance between you and the next dog litter receptacle but the fact is you can actually put your dog poo in a normal bin as long as its been securely bagged up so that's that argument out the window too.

You could feign ignorance of any law that says you should pick up their poop but unless you're blind ( a possible side effect of toxocariasis as it happens , that'll teach you not to clean up after your dog ! ) you can't fail to notice the bright yellow signs applied to many a lamp-post ( we could possibly be stereotyping where dogs like to hang out here but I digress ). They warn you that there is a fixed penalty of £80 to pay for letting your dog foul here and that can increase to a maximum of £1000 if you are found to be persistently offending the pavement with your dogs business.

Medway Council try to do their bit to keep the streets clean with regular patrols from community /plain clothes officers and a machine dedicated to picking up mess from green land areas such as parks and fields. However they can only take action when one of their officers actually witnesses someone failing to pick up their dog litter. They will always give a fine when they can and we can give them a helping hand in identifying the culprits. If you observe anyone letting their dog foul the pavement regularly you can report them to their LOVE MEDWAY PAGE . Note down details of the offender and their animal and let them know at this link. -http://www.medway.gov.uk/environmentandplanning/wastemanagement/lovemedway.aspx .
There's a chance if you tell someone to pick up their canines poo that you might get a mouthful of abuse but I doubt they'd be quite so vocal if confronted by a member of the police. 3 fixed penalty rates have been issued between 2012 -2013 if we all start being a bit more vigilant maybe we could make that rate a bit higher.

 Something else that I think would definitely make these inconsiderate dog owners sit up and take notice is if they realised that through their own selfishness they are adding to the amount of taxes they are having to pay. With the counties total bill for clearing up litter ( including graffiti and dog mess )coming in at approximately 15 million for the past year they'd soon have something to say if they realised their hard earned ( or not as the case may be )cash was being frittered away on someone else having to pick up something they could do themselves for free .

In perspective the amount of cash being spent on it could be put towards training 700 N.H.S nurses or fixing 300,000 potholes in our roads.

It's something to think about isn't it ?

And if that's not enough let me finish with this

In the area where I live there is a man who walks his dog regularly everyday despite having lost both his legs and being confined to a wheelchair . He without fail also makes sure that if his dog does its business on that walk that it's cleared up and disposed of in the correct way even if it does take a bit of major operation for him to achieve this .

So to those of you who do continue to flout your responsibility, I hope you're ashamed of yourselves , he's a credit to us all .