Not clearing dog poo if you're too old/infirm?

[PipsHip]

My neighbour is ancient and quite bent over. She walks her dog on the footpath past my house (not pavement but a path heavily used by children etc) and obviously it poos. She doesn't pick it up but I doubt she can.

Legally she has to (I'm in Scotland and the exemptions are for registered guide and assistance dogs only). But I'm wondering what general public opinion is on whether it's okay? I don't intend to speak to her about it or anything as we have bigger issues round here than this one lady, but I'm curious what other people think.

YABU - the lady and her dog come first. Her being able to walk her dog may be her great joy so let her crack on. It would also be cruel to the dog not to walk it.

YANBU - it's a shame, but her dog's poo could potentially get in a toddler's mouth. She should keep her dog at home or pay someone to walk it (if she can afford to).

I agree - the lady needs to sort the issue out. Dog shit is a nightmare for people with mobility aids or who have poor eyesight.

I remember that public service advert they had in France a few years back, which showed a young blind woman walking along with a stick - “Don’t bother picking up your dog poo; she’ll pick it up for you.” Powerful message!

I’d also like to point out, to other people here, that it is actually possible to walk outside, get exercise and hear the birds sing, without a dog, so “but this old lady won’t be able to leave her house unless she has this dog” is a bit weird. I can see that the dog may be companionship, but people who act as though a dog is necessary in order to have permission to go for a walk are irritating. My ex-BIL was like this, insisted he had to have a bloody dog in order to “get exercise” as a freelancer, so they had to have one and my sister ended up stuck with the dog care most of the time.

A dog is huge motivation to get out and exercise. It’s hard to motivate yourself on a rainy winter day after work but if you have a dog and know they need a walk, it’s encouraging. That said, if you get a dog, you should only do it if you are a good owner and good citizen- it needs training and you absolutely have to clean up after it!

She probably got the dog when she was younger and able to clear up.

I don't begrudge them seeing out the days of their pet (and think that having a pet that needs walking is probably motivating them to stay active for longer)

Nearly everyone in the country is immune to toxoplasmosis, even though only about 350 cases are formally diagnosed a year. Like covid, it's only a risk to those who are immune-compromised (including the pregnant) and covid kills (usually about 1000 people a month) or has life changing sequelae to far more people. But there's no expectation that the population at large should protect the vulnerable from that one, so I think that's weakened the idea that society should pull together to minimise the burden of preventable diseases.

She might get fined at some point, as controls on this one were set in place before public health was abandoned

Interesting timing as I was talking to a visually impaired woman yesterday who walked through dog mess and accidentally brought it into her home and struggled to clean it up and now feels anxious about leaving the house without support.

It's very noble of you to say you'd pick up after her, but are you willing to pick up after every elderly dog walker who passes by your house?
it's not going to be one turd is it?
I wouldn't say she can't have a dog but she does need to take some responsibility for Cleaning up after it.
Maybe it could go in her yard/ garden then she takes it for a walk after the event knowing it's not going to go again whilst they're out.

Really? Dogs can live to 20 years old. If she's had it from a pup, she may have been much fitter when she bought it. Op I would leave it (or pick it myself). There are many lazy fuckers who could pick it up and don't.

She probably hasn’t got long left in this world and dog walking might be one of the only reasons she leaves the house. Just pick it up for her.

I would not be picking up shit for anyone else, no matter their age. The OP didn't sign up to do it and shouldn't have to.

Everyone assuming that the old lady can't pick it up, maybe she's one of the lazy ones who just don't bother? I don't think excusing her because there are younger people who don't is helpful either.

Of course she should be allowed to have a dog and walk it, but i would be shouting out the window and asking her to pick it up when it goes. If she does really struggle to bend then there are aids as other posters have said, if she's not great with online shopping I'd offer to order one for her.

I do a school run daily and have to dodge shit with a 5yr old and a pushchair on some narrow paths, sometimes being forced into the road to avoid getting it on the wheels. It annoys the hell out of me.

If she can't manage to pick it up, even with a scooper, she needs to let it go in the garden before she takes it out for a walk.

@SpringSprungALeak I absolutely wasn't bitching about her specifically. I said I wasn't going to moan at her about it. It just made me think, that's all. I like a friendly debate on Mumsnet 🤷
@TheFairyCaravan has a good point about wheelchair wheels. It's bad enough cleaning it off buggy wheels several times a month, but at least I don't have to touch the buggy wheels to get home 🤢

She has to stop her dog shitting on the path because it’s not fair on other people. She should put her dog in the gutter to do its business. She can simply keep her dog moving until it’s away from where others step or wheel. Report this if the situation continues.

Then I wouldn’t have clue how she would manage all the other things a dog needs

How much “maintaining control of the dog” is required here?? I mean, we’re talking about a small, well-behaved dog, I assume. It would presumably just stand or sit there. You don’t need to keep the lead taut at all times. Just slip the lead loop round your wrist and do the needful. If the dog is hard to manage and potentially dangerous, she should not have it.

This is where the dog owning community should come into its own and pick up the poo on behalf of those dog owners less able to.

It’s not fair for non dog owners to pick it up.

Dogs can easily be trained not to shit all over pavements in the same way they are trained not to shit in the house. Unless the dog is very ill there is absolutely no need. If you’re not able to pick up after the dog, it shouldn’t be shitting where it could end up on pushchair/wheelchair wheels or being stepped in.

Sorry, but no.

Just because I have a dog, does not mean I should pick up the shit of other people's dogs. And if I see a dog turd on a path, there is no way of knowing it was left there due to someone not being able to pick it up, not seeing it, or just not being arsed.

Other people's dogs are not my responsibility.

“it's a shame, but her dog's poo could potentially get in a toddler's mouth.” YABU for adding this. I don’t know many toddlers that eat dog shit off the pavement OP but who knows.

Out of curiosity how are you able to monitor this person on a daily basis? Have you kept a tally chart of daily dog poops?

There are long handled poop scoopers, so of course she should be using one.

The public should not have to put up with dog mess just because some people are lazy, and using 'they are old' etc. is not going to work, if they are able to walk a dog they are able to clean up after it, these days there are lots of gadgets people can use

but surley they would need to bend over at home to care for the dog sometimes? so it doesnt make any sense anyway

Yes but you do to pick up the bowl to wash it, which I'd assume/hope she can manage.

She should be picking up after her dog, with one of those long handled things if necessary. It's disgusting not to.

It can definitely get into toddler mouths. One of mine puts everything in there, including sticks. Guess where sticks have been?
Also if it's on shoes, it can scrape on the buggy footmuff when you put them back in, and if you don't notice they are then sitting next to it all the way home and it gets on their hands...

I asked someone to pick up some dog poo as their dog had pooed right in the middle of my friends driveway entrance. The person the dog owner was with started yelling that they don’t have to because the dog owner is disabled (it wasn’t a service dog). I told her to get it picked up or her photo was going on the local neighbourhood fb complaints page as she was the one ranting and also she could have picked it up even if the owner couldn’t , as allowing your dog to randomly shit on someone else’s property and leaving it there is completely unacceptable, she then stomped across the the road to the local shop and came out with some poo bags and cleared it up last while yelling at me. Dog owner stood there shuffling their feet looking embarrassed. Yes, I could have cleared it up myself but why should I? Aside from the fact that I like dogs but the thought of picking up animal shit in a bag makes me heave, which is why I don’t have any pets myself, so be damned if I am going to pick up after someone else’s. I am firmly of the opinion that if you cannot pick up after your dog either A organise someone else to do it, or pay for the service if necessary, or B don’t have a dog.

In this case, yabu. So nice that she can go out and enjoy a bit of fresh air and peace with her dog. If you know about this, maybe you could use a piece of wood and kick into the sides.

And I am someone who gets very angry when people don't pick up, normally.

Aside from the fact that I like dogs but the thought of picking up animal shit in a bag makes me heave
I agree, some dogs are cute and amusing but the massive downside is that you have to handle dog faeces🤮 It's bad enough that the outdoor urban environment is littered with piles of feces, and then I have to be in close proximity to people with little bags of dog feces dangling from their hands.
They may pick up the fecal bonbons lovingly because they adore their animals so much but the rest of us don't want to be near their foul toxic dog feces.

I would love it if there were dog-free areas.

@AngryBird6122 such as?