A child's sight damaged by dog sh*t

[Greensleeves]

There's a story in our local newspaper this morning about an eleven year old girl whose sight has been permanently damaged by toxicaria from dog mess left in the street.

I am sick, sick, sick of dodging piles of sh*t in the streets, courtesy of the lazy, selfish @rseholes who don't care enough for other people to clean up after their animals.

[Socci]

I completely agree - it's disgusting.

[Angeliz]

Ring your council and complain.
We did after an old cow down the road let her dog shit behind my car nearly every day. Someone came out and put up posters and came again and rang us to say they'd fined someone on the spot
We now see her with her plastic bag.
We have a huge boxer dog but i'd never leave it's poo in the street so please don't think we're all the same. It's one or 2 laz pigs

[megglevache]

I could not agree with you more. My sister's work collegue has a grandson who was blinded by the same thing. he was playing in the local park.

I used to have a dog and was diligent about collecting his poo but I used to see loads of people who didn't bother. In the end an incident where a man threatened violence towards me made sure I never challenged anyone ever again.

I really think the fines should be reinforced. It's just so unfair that I can't take my ds to the local park because some dog owners are too damn lazy to do something really easy. Imagine if we couldn't be arsed to do this with our babies and just turfed their turds onto the street straight from the nappy.

[winnie]

:(

[Greensleeves]

I think dog owners should be issued with a six months warning about the dog mess problem. Dog bins/dispensers of little plastic bags should be erected everywhere so there's no excuse. After the six months have elapsed, teams of dog wardens/volunteers should comb the streets ans beaches, and if a single dog turd is found, the ownership of dogs as pets should be OUTLAWED.

It's not just disgusting, it's bloody lethal. You wouldn't leave little piles of Aids-infected body tissue in the street and expect to get away with it, would you? It causes blindness, and in the worst cases death, usually to little children who encounter it while walking to school or making sandcastles on the beach...... selfish, selfish BAST@RDS.

I am incandescent with rage over this

[Blandmum]

My mum and dad used to live on the end of a terrage of houses. One lazy bastard ued to bring his dog to piss and shit on the corner of their house, daily. In the end my father had enough of it, and threw a bucket of water over both owner and dog, telling the bloke that the next time it would be a bucket of piss.

Not surprisingly the guy took his dog elsewhere.

My uncle once saw a dog being allowed to shit all over his next door neighbours doorstep! He picked up the shit, followed the guy home and deposited it on the ownders door step, rang the door bell and told the giuy that he should clean up his pet's mess.

It isn't the dogs fault it is the fucking ownners who can't be bothered to clean up. Drives me wild.

[TinyGang]

Yes, agree with all that's been said. I am sick of it too

[foxinsocks]

dd fell in dog poo yesterday - she absolutely stank and it was all up her leg and all over her clothes

I have phoned our council (Rich upon Thames) several times to complain about dog poo on the streets around here. It is everywhere in this borough. They will do nothing about it.

There was an article in Eve Standard about boroughs and how many fines they have handed out in a year for this. A few London boroughs take it seriously but ours and a fair few others had either issued 0 fines or only 1 or 2. It is completely and utterly ridiculous. Our walk to school only takes 10 minutes but I count at least 5 huge turds every day.

[hunkermunker]

I think that the owners should be put down if they don't pick up after their dogs.

Hopefully this story will get major headlines and we can all banshee after inconsiderate dog owners more than ever now.

Poor girl

And

[Freckle]

Part of the problem is that, in order to get the council to act against anyone not clearing up after their dog, you have to be able to identify the owner and know where they live. Not very easy.

There is a lane that I walk up with the boys everyday on our way to school. I have the council's environmental health phone number in my mobile and, bang on 8.30am, I call them to complain about all the dog sh*t. Apparently they have to clear it up within 24 hours - haha. Because the lane is not overlooked by anything, people think they can let their dogs mess there and walk away scott-free.

I walk up there with our dog but I always carry bags with me to clear up - not that he's ever done anything outside of our garden.

[Pinotmum]

If you don't want to pick up shit then don't have a dog. There's a guy near me who lets his mut run off the lead and it's pissing and shitting everywhere but as it's behind him he pretends he can't see it. He looks like he give you a mouthful if challenged but I think I may ring the council next time and she if they can do something.

[expatinscotland]

I have to say when I first moved here, the amount of dog mess everywhere really shocked me and grossed me out.

If the council is so worried about revenue, I suggest they allow the traffic wardens to start fining for people who allow their dogs to foul w/o picking it up.

Bring back park wardens, too, please!

[LadyTophamHatt]

I am a dog owner and always pick up her pooh, its digusting when people leave it....




Can Ijust have a a little rant?
we're dog sitting ATM and if I had a gun I'd shoot the fucking thing.

Not only has it done disgusting runny poos all over my garden, I have just been hoovering up all the friggin dog hair it's molted and found a puddle of wee where it's pissed up the wall....INDOORS!!!!!!

It slobbers everywhere, barks at 1000 decibels to be let out or in.
All made 1000 times worse because I feel like shit with morning sickness.
This is the last time we're having it staying here.

[Caligula]

Do you have a link Greensleeves? It might be a good story to send to my local council, who are also useless about this. I'm currently in communication with the dept who deals with it as I've asked them how many prosecutions they've done in the last year. This was the response:

"In the last year we have issued 1 FPN & have 1 prosecution file that is in the system.
We have had a number of other jobs but these have been closed off due to witness withdrawing.
FPN means fixed penalty notice."

So one whole prosecution and 1 FPN for all those thousands of dog turds. Imagine if they took that laissez-faire approach to parking offences.

[foxinsocks]

Exactly Caligula

THe first time I phoned our council (a few years ago) they told me their cleaning contractors wouldn't clean it up (in a local park) because it was a Health and Safety issue (to them) and it wasn't in their contract!! What the f??

Drives me mad this.

[Greensleeves]

Can't do links but will enlist dh when he's finished making my tea

I really am serious about the six month proposal. It's the way everything else dangerous and antisocial is dealt with.... if a minority can't be induced to refrain from abusing the system and endangering other people, then the majority lose a little bit of civil freedom in exchange for public health/safety. That's called SOCIETY ffs. It's happened with things like smoking in public places/recreational drug-taking/drinking in the street. If domestic dog ownership can't be made safe - which it fucking well isn't at the moment, because children ARE being injured and maimed by it - then it has to go! It's about time something decisive about this.

[foxinsocks]

the problem is catching people in the act

strangely (given the number of turds round here) I have never caught anyone letting their dog poo on the pavement and not clean it up - I reckon they must do it either late at night or very early in the morning

[Greensleeves]

...about time something decisive was done about this

[Greensleeves]

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[foundintranslation]

Oh greeny, how right you are. This is one of my biggest bugbears. We don't have a garden and ds will be walking soon. I'm dreading it as even though there are loads of play areas and it's pretty clean round here, there are always some selfish sh*ts (pardon the rather unfunny pun) who spoil it for everyone. I'm also dreading Berlin in the summer because it's even worse there. I'll prob have to schlep ds across town and pay to get into one of the parks that don't allow dogs. And don't get me started on all the inconsiderate oh-he-doesn't-mean-any-harm dog owners who let their animals run around wildly.
Instead of ranting on I think I'd better PARP.

[azroc]

Shouldn't people have to take a course before dog-owning? One with lots of info about toxicara/aggression/training, practical experience and exams. Better for the dogs as well as the rest of the world!
I still get a scared feeling in my tummy when I see a dog I don't know off a lead due to being bitten when I was a child, also knocked over by a big dog in a park. Oh, and being too scared to go home because the people who lived below us had a dog tied up in the yard and I didn't know if the rope was long enough for it to be able to get me. I don't hate all dogs though, and have known some wonderful ones, so I'm not just a dog-phobe.
And the whole poo thing just makes me livid!!!

[nothercules]

So because a few people dont clear up after their dogs, you propose that noone should be allowed to own dogs? Should there be a mass cull then?

p.s I always clear up after mine!

[Greensleeves]

Yes, I do. If it isn't possible to stop the minority from causing injury and death to children through their negligence, then we should remove the problem entirely by banning dogs as pets. Children are more important, IMO.

[nothercules]

Then lets get rid of cars. They cause more death and injuries.

[NotAnOtter]

my dp is a vet and he always [patronises me with ' i think you will find most people clean up after their dogs' type comments - the walk to our tarn local beutyspot is marred by dog shit everywhere its disgusting...ofensive and a threat to peoples health . I juts dont get it - mumsnet needs to campaign - or else the bloody dog owners can come and clean my 3 wheeler tyres