What to do about dog poo woman?

[FrankieDobie]

There is a tiny elderly woman who walks her dogs past my house every morning. She’s quite well known due to the fact that she’s about 4ft and walks two giant Irish wolfhounds that are 3 times the size of her. Problem is she doesn’t pick up their shit. The dogs often poo right outside my house. I went out to speak to her last week and asked her nicely if she would mind picking up the dog poo and she smiled sweetly and said “I’m 86 dear, if I bent down there I’d never get back up again!” and walked off.
Anyway there was a post on the neighbourhood Facebook page about people leaving dog poo so I replied saying about this lady and was told I was out of order as she’s so elderly!?

WIBU to mention it or even approach her??

Leave a £50 note on the floor when you know she's passing and see what happens.

Who are the 10% who think you’re BU?! The mad MN hound brigade?

More like the "everyone has an invisible disability that means you must allow them to treat you badly" brigade.

Of course she can pick up her dogs' shit. It is irresponsible of her not to. Her age is irrelevant. I don't see why the op should pick it up for her either. I'd certainly not want to handle someone else's pet's shit. It's not about 'being kind', it's about her social responsibility. Of course she should be able to keep the dogs if she can care for them, but part of caring for them is picking up after them. If she can't do that in the street then I wonder what the state of her house is like? Perhaps it needs reporting for that reason alone.

If she’s too old to pick it up, she’s too old to keep dogs.

3WildOnes

Bloody hell some awful replies here. I would just pick up the poo myself, it would take less than two minutes of my time and why not be be helpful to a frail old lady.
I want to live in a world where people are kind and helpful so I do my bit.”

She’s not frail if she can control two wolfhounds.

Leaving dog shit on the pavement, where it’s a slip hazard to other possibly frail people, is neither kind nor helpful.

why not be be helpful to a frail old lady?

She's walking 2 Irish Wolfhounds. She is not frail!

Be kind

Honestly why isn’t she making the dogs at least poo somewhere that isn’t outside people houses

At the common last weekend a number poo bags hanging around it’s absolutely disgusting

Absolutely the attitude that does it for me. I’d record and report without hesitation or apology. I wouldn’t have agreed to do it either way but if she’d been apologetic and not horrendously entitled, I’d have made suggestions and given a grace period to rectify before reporting.

@brewstew

Leave a £50 note on the floor when you know she's passing and see what happens.

@brewstew

Leave a £50 note on the floor when you know she's passing and see what happens.

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

Why don't you reply to the Facebook people, ok point taken, I'll buy a poop scoop, who wants to sort the rota of people to clear it up?

I’d be concerned for the dog’s welfare really.

If she’s 86 and can’t pick up their poo does this mean they’re getting enough exercise each day? Big dogs need a good 1/2 hour walk a couple of times a day, surely?

I’m not being mean but an 86 year old ‘needing’ these dogs for company doesn’t top trump the dog’s welfare.

If they’re looked after well in every other way (bar poop scooping) then all well and good, although she should be advised that she will be fined for not picking up her dog’s excrement and shown how this is achievable with the right tools?

Perhaps contact the local dog warden at your council who can advise her?

She is utterly taking the piss out of you and she’s using her age to do it. People don’t suddenly become arseholes when they hit their 80s. They’ll have been arseholes all their life and she’s relying on people similar to some on this thread allowing her to get away with it because she’s elderly. She isn’t even apologetic. It has never been acceptable to use someone’s gate as your dog’s toilet. Ever. These dogs only live 6-10 years on average so she’s taken them on either in late 70s or her 80s, knowing she can’t (or won’t) clean up after them. That speaks volumes.

Catch her next time she goes past, tell her that long handled pooper scoopers are available and if she lets her dogs shit outside your house again, you’ll report her. And if that doesn’t work, you’ll bag it up, follow her home and dump it in her front garden. And if anyone tells you that she’s a vulnerable old woman and you’re a wicked cow, then ask them if they’d like your address so they can come and clean it up for her, or whether they’d like to give her their address, so she can take her dogs to shit outside their house.

@3WildOnes

Bloody hell some awful replies here. I would just pick up the poo myself, it would take less than two minutes of my time and why not be be helpful to a frail old lady? I want to live in a world where people are kind and helpful so I do my bit. People often help me too and I really appreciate it. Sometimes people help me carry my buggy upstairs. I’m a shop the other day I realised I had forgot my purse so the shopkeeper said I could come and pay later. No one is obliged to help me but it’s nice when they do.

if she can manage to walk two Irish wolfhounds everyday, she's really not a "frail old lady".

She's also not "being kind" by leaving shit on the floor for wheelchairs to push through, buggies to go over and people who might have sight issues or other disabilities to step in, is she?

She needs to pick it up and if she can't then she needs to carry something that enables her to do so or employ a dog walker/get a friend to volunteer to walk with her. Dog poo is a health hazard and not acceptable to just leave it anywhere. And she def is not frail if she has 2 large dogs.

Not being the youngest person myself, I assume she has capacity and is - as an adult - responsible for her actions?
Calling her a 'poor old lady' etc. seems ageist.

If the dogs really are that big, and she cannot bend down to pick up the poo. How would she cope if the dogs go after a rabbit or a child?

Fucking hell. Are some people really suggesting the OP should pick the shit up herself?

The mind boggles...

The old woman clearly can't look after the dogs properly if she can't pick the shit up - how does she put food down for them for a start?

Of course she has to pick up their shit, she’s using the sweet doddery old lady excuse to get out of doing something she doesn’t want to do. Bet she doesn’t have dog shit all around her garden and front path because she picks it up. Grim.

Next time she walks past pass her a bag of all of her dog’s shit and say there, I bent down, now you get rid of it you gross human!!

I did say YABU for mentioning her on Facebook, not speaking to her. I also don't agree that if she can't pick it up, she shouldn't have dogs. Sometimes it's the only company or family elderly people have and I would like a bit of grace in my old age with things like that. However, she could vary her route a bit or make sure they go in the garden and she has a poop scoop where you don't need to bend down.

Report her to the local authority. They have dog wardens. If they are like ours tell them who, and what time and they come out. Then she will be fined. Again and again

I would also go to the rspca. It sounds like she can’t handle the dogs of she can’t bend down. Or you could present her with a long handled scoop!

@JustJoinedRightNow good plan!

I would just pop out and pick it up for her (she won’t be around for ever) but, I’m a dog person and picking up doesn’t bother me. I have friends who feel sick at the thought. If you’re the former it could be your good deed for the day.

I’m a shop the other day I realised I had forgot my purse so the shopkeeper said I could come and pay later. No one is obliged to help me but it’s nice when they do.
How is “shop credit” analogous to “picking up faeces”?

And yes, I do realise you need dustbin liners to pick up after Irish Wolfhounds - Labradors are bad enough.