Dog Mess Post Reply

[Firefly]

I was wondering if anyone else is getting fed up of constantly trying to dodge dog mess on our streets. Is there anything we could do about it?

Ideas might be to start a campaign or get the council involved. Or even just urge people to challenge offenders caught in the act.

Does anyone else think this is a growing issue in nappyvalley?

[shaneleone]

I was just complaining to my husband about this yesterday! It has gotten worse it seems to me - and it's absolutely disgusting. I was wondering about hefty fines for anyone caught, another way to generate revenue besides parking tickets - but of course, the guilty dog owners would have to be caught in the act....

[Firefly]

I did hear once of someone who was spraying the stuff with florescent orange paint in a town somewhere!! At least you'd see it

[Tealover]

I noticed an increase in dog mess a few months ago on my street and I called the council to see if anything could be done. They told me not to approach anyone who I saw letting their dog mess as there could be a risk of aggression. Instead they asked me to note the time and description of both dog and owner and report it to them. The following day my husband saw some council workers having a look round my street and they put up some signs on lamposts about fines for dog mess. I still see a lot of mess on the street but I have yet to see the guilty dog owner. Also I have noticed an increase in the number of small black bags of dog poo just being thrown on the pavement. Not sure if these owners think they are doing their bit by bagging the stuff but just then throwing it back on the pavement is just as bad as leaving it their in the first place! I'll try to find the contact details I had for the council - they did take my complaint seriously and did seem keen on catching dog owners who do this, so I would suggest reporting it if you see it.

[Firefly]

Thanks MJ

If you could send the link that'd be great. Perhaps if more of us could report it more might be done. I actually know where one repeat offender lives so will report her. I have politely approached her before but I have since seen her bag and throw under cars! There's a bin just at the end of the road too!!

[kewty]

Don't even get me started on this - oh we'll go on then!

I grew up with dogs and generally have a soft spot for them, but I am soooooo fed up with our pavements covered in dog poo. At the end of the day the dog has to do it somewhere, and it is the owners responsibility. If someone wants to get a dog, they should take on ALL the responsibility that goes with them.

One idea I had was... Every puppy must have a licence, get its jabs etc. at the same time, they have their DNA taken and put on file, then when the owner fails to scoop, the poo can be traced. Yes I know that this would be very expensive, but this should be then be reflected in the fine, and if the owner fails to pay the fine then the dog gets taken away.

If the owner is not responsible enough to scoop they should not have the dog in the first place.

K

[dishevelled]

I have just written to the council about this having walked past 4 separate piles of dog mess on leathwaite road.

They replied saying Wandsworth Borough Council have Dog Control Orders in place enabling us to issue Fixed Penalty Notices on the spot for dog owners who fail to remove their dogs' mess, regardless of where the dog fouls. The fine is £80 and payable within 14 days.

They said to let them know of any specific information to help catch offenders, where and what times.

Lisa Martin is the Dog Control Officer 8871 7606 lmartin@wandsworth.gov.uk
and Tony Fossett tfossett@wandsworth.gov.uk is the area officer.

I am now keeping a record of every time I see any dog mess and where and am letting them know! Maybe if we all do that the offenders will be caught!!

[Tealover]

Thanks Tams2010 - Lisa Martin was the person I spoke to.

[CornishMummyinLondon]

I wrote to my local councillor last week about this very issue having brought dog mess into my house on three seperate occasions during the week on buggies, scooters and shoes. I have asked specifically what the council is doing to address this issue and I asked how often their fines are actually implented and by who. I will let you know if they reply to me.

My neighbour also e-mailed the council directly asking them to clean the roads in which we live. The council said they would clean them that day, which they didn't, so my neighbour is calling every day until they do actually clean up the mess. I think the more of us who contact both the specific contact at the coucil and our local councellors asking what more can be done to tackle those responsible for the mess on our pavements the more impact we will have.

[Firefly]

Thanks MJ and Tam

[Firefly]

I will be writing in to the council but there must be something more effective we can do.

Dog mess is vile and dangerous for children, any ideas anyone?

[AbbevilleMummy]

Thank god its not just me - I thought I was becoming obsessed with this!

We moved from Clapham (Lambeth BC) to Wandsworth in September and we can't believe how bad the dog mess is here.

Every day my street is absolutely covered in piles of poo. It's a nightmare as my toddler wants to walk everywhere but just letting her walk from the front door to the car is horrendous.

It would be interesting to know the difference between how Lambeth deal with it vs how Wandsworth do.

[elizad]

In response to Abbeville Mothers post iot must be bad in Wandsworth as we are in Lambeth near the Abbeville Road and its pretty bad around here... I would also be interested in knowing what you can do as I wonder if there is a new dog on the street as it sometimes only takes one errant owner to really leave a mess and its getting unbearable....

[EmmaVictoriaID]

Oh my goodness this gives me the RAGE, I live in Tooting and every time I leave my house there is sh1t everywhere, it is making me mad! I did catch one woman chucking her poo bag in the street gutter, I confronted her and told her to pick it up and she was absolutely convinced that she could do this because "everyone knows the street cleaners pick them up", I said of course not, otherwise everyone would just throw any rubbish in the gutter and of course you don't because it's littering! She even directed me to the council website! I was unsure and did check and of course you are not allowed to dispose of dog mess this way. It's obviously an education issue as she seemed quite well put together but was sure she was doing no wrong. On another issue I challenged a couple walking three staffys without leads on the street, I said they should be on leads and pointed to the stickers on lampposts and she got really aggressive, shouting at me that I had hang ups and as long as they were under control it was fine. Two people, three dogs, straight away they are outnumbered if they decide to misbehave. Anyway I'm starting to really despise dog owners now and I know it's ridiculous but there are just so many irresponsible owners why don't they get a simple book of basic rules when they get a dog!

[kcai]

Registered just to post a reply to this!

Just walking down Magdalen toward Earlsfield Station today, I had to dodge (and herd the 3 year old around) at least three different piles of poo. Several of them were fresh and (sorry for going into too much detail) large and slimy. A real problem and health hazard. We even had a huge pile on the pavement outside our front garden one morning that I had to clear away myself - Yuck.

I have also noticed a lot of roaming, off-leash dogs on Wandsworth Common. I don't mind off-leash dogs per se, but one of them jumped up on my 14 month old's stroller and really scared her. The owner was at least fifty yards away with her back turned, walking away....

I don't mind off-leash dogs but I do think some of the owners are being too blase about letting their pups roam anywhere and everywhere. I was witness to a pretty horrific incident in Garratt Park (just outside the One o'clock club) where a dog mauled a border collie near to death and ripped up a man's arm - that happened over a year ago but I could easily see it happening again given the sheer number of dogs around these days.

Hope I don't come across as too uptight in this post - I was a dog owner myself for years and I love seeing dogs able to stretch their legs... but I do think there is a time and a place, and perhaps the Wandsworth authorities might look into some increased patrols and on-the-spot fines for these issues.