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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Should I ask for a court hearing?

31 replies

MrsPresley · 17/01/2011 19:06

My dog is very old (15) and quite often gets diarrhea Sad

Anyway at teatime I took him out and got caught by the Environmental wardens. They asked me if my dog had just done the toilet and had I picked it up. I said yes he has and no I haven?t because he has diarrhea and I can?t pick it up (without being too yucky it's almost water at the moment). They then asked if I had a vet's certificate to say he has diarrhea, and I said no, because he gets like this quite often if I was to take him to vet every time it would cost a fortune to be told to give him rice and chicken for the next few days and any other time I've taken him I've never been given a certificate. I even showed them the roll of poo bags in my pocket, as I always clean up after him, when possible, and not that it makes any difference but I take him to a piece of waste ground round the corner.

My neighbour has said she will even go to court to verify that I was cleaning the path at just after 7 this morning as he didn?t make it any further (we live in a tenement, so no garden)

Believe me it's no fun getting woke up at 2am to take him out or waking up and standing in a puddle of poo Sad

Anyway they gave me a fixed penalty (fair enough) for 40 pounds (sorry my pound sign doesn't work) but it says on it I can request a court hearing. So do you think I should just pay the fine, or go to court as I couldn?t pick it up and risk getting fined even more?

I think it's upsetting me more as over the past few months his diarrhea has been getting more frequent and I know we don?t have much more time together but apart from arthritis and being almost deaf he's quite healthy but old. The last time he was at the vet (September) she told me to prepare for possibly our last Christmas together Sadbut this was due to old age rather than illness

OP posts:
ILoveItWhenYouCallMeBoo · 17/01/2011 19:09

if it was me i would take him to the vet and get the vet to put something in writing that he gets like this often and then i would go to court. but then i don't really know enough about the courts to know whetehr a vet's letter would be enough.

PaisleyLeaf · 17/01/2011 19:10

I'd say go to the vet too. Ask about this certificate and what to do about the court thing.

PaisleyLeaf · 17/01/2011 19:12

...and would a flask of warm soapy disinfectant be a good way of sluicing it away? As the poobags are obviously no good for diarrhea.

Original poster
MrsPresley · 17/01/2011 19:12

ILove it hen you call me boo, I thought about that, but it's a bit like going afterwards to get out of it, if you see what I maen. Plus the last time he was there in September was because he was bit by another dog, so It's probably been about a year since he was there because of the diarrhea

OP posts:
AgentZigzag · 17/01/2011 19:12

If it were me I would ask for one.

I think the fixed penalty should be for people who are deliberately not picking up their dog mess.

I know those people I'm sure can justify not picking it up in their own heads, but you had a genuine reason.

Even if you can afford the fourty quid, it's the principle isn't it?

charliesmommy · 17/01/2011 19:13

For future walks, you could take a water bottle with you to swill away the poo.

BeerTricksPotter · 17/01/2011 19:13

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

SkyBluePearl · 17/01/2011 19:13

I wouldn't bother going to court when you have so little time left together. Can you take a water container with a squirty sports lid with you on walks and maybe squirt it over the very very runny poo? Get rid of it that way if it's allowed?

missismonky · 17/01/2011 19:13

No idea what you should do. Just aww, poor you, to have this happen when you are trying to enjoy the time with you old dog. Sad the wardens couldn't be a bit more understanding under the circumstances.

Original poster
MrsPresley · 17/01/2011 19:13

PaisleyLeaf, I never thought of that, good idea, at least then if they see me again they'll know I was at least trying to get rid of it.

OP posts:
ILoveItWhenYouCallMeBoo · 17/01/2011 19:15

yes i see what you mean, but the fact that he has been before about his diarhoea would prove that you didn't just go after the fine was handed out, because the condition was tehre before. if that makes sense? i agree with agent, it's the principle of teh thing. there was no possible way that you could have lifted diarhoea. they were being arseholes to do taht to you. do tehy have targets to meet?

ILoveItWhenYouCallMeBoo · 17/01/2011 19:17

and if it was on waste ground then no-one was going to walk through it.

scurryfunge · 17/01/2011 19:19

If you know it is going to cause such a problem then take a small plastic trowel and scrape it up into a bigger bag. It really is quite unreasonable to expect people to negotiate dog crap regardless of its consistency. Others have also suggested squirting disinfectant which is a good idea.

I would pay the fine and accept that I have to make a bit more of an effort with an elderly dog.

gillybean2 · 17/01/2011 19:20

Are you prepared to pay the vet's bill, fine and possible court costs and further penalty if it goes against you? Can you afford the stress? If you are happy to take that chance then yes you may have a strong case. That doesn't mean you will win, and even if you do there will still be costs to pay.
You could try getting the vets letter and send that with teh penalty notice saying you intend to contest it. They may waive it on the grounds it would cost them more to persue it. Or they may not.

The reality is it is a health hazard and if the warden's were out it is likely to have been due to complaints or excessive messing in the area (not saying that is you that has caused that).

Have you thought about taking a bottle of water with you to help try and wash some of the mess away if it can't be picked up? Or a small bag of sand or sawdust to sprinkle over it to help dry it up and cover it? Course they may do you for litering instead!

PaisleyLeaf · 17/01/2011 19:21

The more I think about it, I can't see how the court can decide anything other than that you didn't clean up after your dog.
I think just pay the £40 and use a squirty bottle from now on.

BeerTricksPotter · 17/01/2011 19:22

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Original poster
MrsPresley · 17/01/2011 19:22

Beertrickspotter, no one would walk through it, I take him to a piece of waste ground as do a few of the dog owners round here so that they dont have to pee or poo in the local park (although other owners just use the park and most clean up)

OP posts:
BeerTricksPotter · 17/01/2011 19:24

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

scurryfunge · 17/01/2011 19:24

It is still a public place though.

Original poster
MrsPresley · 17/01/2011 19:25

I really dont know to be honest, I can afford the money, I just feel that they could have been a bit more understanding.

Also they didnt even look at what he had done, they had been sat in a car down the road a bit and waited til he had finished, mind you it was dark, I should have just said no he a pee as he sort of squats rather than lifting his leg, I doubt whether they could have honestly seen what he was doing!

OP posts:
scurryfunge · 17/01/2011 19:27

If you feel justified in fighting it then fight it. I think you may find it hard to argue though.

ILoveItWhenYouCallMeBoo · 17/01/2011 19:27

I'm just wondering, was the waste ground soil or grassy? if so, i don't even think you could have blotted it with kitchen roll or squirted it away as it would just soak into the ground.

Bogeyface · 17/01/2011 19:28

Tbh I think you did deserve the penalty.

You knew he had the runs and took him out with no way of clearing it up. A bottle of water would be sufficient to sluice it into the gutter, and if they had seen you do that then chances are they wouldnt have fined you.

I realise it cant be pleasant having an ill dog but I would be revolted if I saw that or one of my children stepped in it.

I think you should suck it up and learn from it.

ILoveItWhenYouCallMeBoo · 17/01/2011 19:28

with hindsight, it would have been good to be able to show them what he had done and ask them how you could lift it.

LisaD1 · 17/01/2011 19:29

How about a bag of cat litter or shavings? You could chuck that on it and then pick it up? I can see it's upsetting for you but at the same time your dogs mess is your responsibility regardless of where it goes.

I know how gross it is to do, my dad used to make us clear up after the dog even when it had diareah, used to turn my stomach but had to be done.

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