Starting the Day

Sometimes, with life being so pressured, we don't have time to eat breakfast and walk the dog!

That problem is now over!


Just follow the example of this young lady, who walks the dog, eats breakfast and clears up after the dog all in one go.

Scotland Again - What is Happening?

Since highlighting the FOI requests made by Emma Horrell, Dog Fouling and Red Rubber Bands HQ has received a number of communications regarding Scotland. I hope to blog about them later.

One deserves particular mention and that is a communication relating to night time dog fouling. The Shetland News, where the truth is great and prevails, informs us that a poster campaign has been launched in Lerwick. Instances of dog fouling have increased by 60% in some neighbourhoods compared to the light summer evenings. I am really curious to know how this has been measured. Is it measured by reports to the council, by the observations of enforcement officers or the activity of carpet cleaning companies? I don't know.



I do know that a meaningful poster campaign has been launched. This is very important. Clearly, there are those, who believe that dog fouling has less effect in the dark. Could this be why the problem appears to be so prominent in Scotland? Scotland has more hours of darkness than its Southern neighbours. Perhaps there is an unspoken feeling of safety in the dark and an attitude that what you can't see can't harm you? I could understand this to be the case as, frankly, you could virtually slide to my village pub in the evenings!

I think the poster says it all and I will do no more than leave you with its words and picture of wisdom. I love the spotlight theme - floodlight those faeces!

Dog Poo Christmas Ornaments and Gifts

On Christmas morning, what better than to feast our eyes on a series of ornaments and gifts, which help us to celebrate Christmas with our favourite substance - dog excrement.

We start with "Yule Doos", a frosted tree ornament. I love the strap line "When a Tinkle's Not Enough"! I can just imagine a Christmas tree overflowing with these representations of dog waste.

Then we have a (thankfully) unscented dog poo candle. Imagine these around the table on Christmas morning!

But my favourite has to be "Chocolate Doo Drops". Quite frankly, I can taste them as I type this post!

Whatever your chosen favourite, have a very happy Christmas and don't forget... there is no amnesty during the holiday period! If your dog produces some festive fouling then you must still engage in a Christmas clear up!

Hot Babes II

Remember the post detailing how hot girls were forced to wear skimpy bikini's to advertise a new type of poo bag?

Well the advertisers have jumped on this selling point again and used another hot girl in their campaign, this time to advertise Catch-A-Poop.

I think they have made a mistake using her in their advert though, as I didn't even notice that she was carrying a 5ft long pole with a luminous yellow plastic bag stuck to the end of it!



PS: Who is Joey Villani, Celebrity Pet Grooming Judge, A.K.A The Dog Father anyway ??????

Drumchapel Housing Co-operative - Mutt Shots!

Once again, we are back in Scotland. Drumchapel Housing Co-operative has come to the attention of the Clydebank Post.



What can possibly be the cause of this interest. Yes, you guessed it, dog fouling!

With a clever play on words, the campaign is described as "mutt shots". Those of you, who are familiar with law enforcement programmes from the US will instantly think of "mug shots". You would be quite right to do so!

As the Clydebank Post explains; Drumchapel Housing Co-op holds a photographic register of their tenants' pets as well as details of the name, age, breed, colour, sex and a written description of each animal.

This enables housing officers to identify the owners of pets in the event of antisocial behaviour such as continual barking, dog fouling or aggression towards other animals or humans.

The landlord currently has 150 animals on file and owners responsible for antisocial behaviour, such as dog fouling, are in breach of their tenancy agreement.

They will receive a fixed penalty notice and ultimately risk losing their homes if they fail to clean up their act.

That said, the Daily Record sees it differently. It explains that the measure has been brought in because pet detectives in Glasgow find it hard in the winter months to identify owners covered up with scarves and hats.

This seems a more likely explanation as CCTV is used to identify owners, who do not clear up. CCTV has been a much debated issue on this blog but it appears that Scotland is taking a much harder line in this area. City council leader Gordon Matheson (right) said: "Pet registers, ssuch as the one compiled by Drumchapel Housing Cooperative, are very useful for establishing the identity of the owners of animals involved in anti-social behaviour". This is welcome support from the council leader but I note that he makes no observations about the use of CCTV. Does this mean anything? I don't know. I do know that Rani Dhir MBE (left), who is a director of Drumchapel Housing states; "We have been encouraging our tenants to report any antisocial behaviour involving dogs which may have been fouling or causing a nuisance. We intend to follow up their reports where we have good evidence. We also recognise that there are many responsible dog owners who have registered their dogs, take them out only on a leash and clean up after them - they need have no concerns that their pets will be a target."Does Rani approve of the use of CCTV? Again, I don't know. Rani is, however, a member of the Commission on Scottish Devolution. I have no idea what the findings of the Commission will be. Indeed, here at Dog Fouling and Red Rubber Bandsm we eschew party politics of any kind. We can, however, observe that, whether Scotland becomes independent or not, there will be no room for hiding if you let your dog foul the streets or parks.
Personally, I can't wait for the first identification parade to take place!

Marie Hannigan is also Scottish and works in communities and housing. She has a personal dream that we will be able to recycle dog poo. Although she offers no solution, it is worth hearing her express her heartfelt desire!

Ryedale District Council - How Successful Are You?

In April 2011, Ryedale District Council launched a campaign against the blight of dog fouling. A lynch pin of this operation was Dog Warden Brian Dunn (pictured right). The "grass them up" theme was prominent in this campaign, which encouraged local people to pass information to Brian regarding the identities of those, who allow their dogs to foul public areas without cleaning up.






The poster shown to the right was a leading instrument in this revived campaign. You might agree with me that this is very welcome action and we are all behind Brian (clearly a dog lover!) in the relentless battle to keep our streets and parks clean.

Things, however, are not always as clear cut as they seem. The Malton and Pickering Mercury reports that a second ticket has been issued, by Brian, for an offence of dog fouling.

The question we must answer is; "is this a triumph"?

Let's face it, two tickets in nine months can hardly be described as a deluge! Inspector Tim Hutchinson (left), head of Ryedale Police said: “Dog fouling can be tackled by the whole community working together. Some dog owners think they can get away with not picking up after their pet if a dog warden is not around.But as more and more people come forward to report dog fouling offences, irresponsible dog owners may start to think twice about their actions.” Come on, Tim! Two tickets hardly implies that the community is behind this effort! Or is it that dog fouling has ceased to occur in Ryedale? I think not!

Yet another dilemma. The community complains but the community fails to act!

I can only leave you to read the article here.

Finally Someone Says It!

Our thanks must now go to "Your Local Guardian". A recent report highlights the fact that children at Culvers House Primary School are having to campaign to prevent selfish owners from allowing their dogs to foul public areas around the school. I think it goes without saying that we support this campaign and also that this is all too familiar an occurrence within the British Isles.

Councillor Colin Hall has pitched in and stated as follows: "There’s no excuse for leaving dog mess littering public areas. Most owners are responsible and pick up after their pets, but there’s a small minority who still let their animals use our parks and pavements as a sewer". These are strong and very welcome words but Your Local Guardian has gone that step further and said words, which we have always felt:

"Dog Fouling is a Crime.


Thank goodness the campaign has now achieved this level of recognition!

Last minute Christmas gift

You know what its like ... you are busy at work and you just can't seem to find the time to do any Xmas shopping. The days are slipping by and still you haven't bought anything for your loved ones ...

Well fret no more. Let Dog Fouling and Red Rubber Bands take the stress out of your Xmas shopping. We have put together a selection of popular gifts and stocking fillers all with a dog shit theme!

Lets go straight for this years "must have" toy - Doggie Doo - the adorable pooing dachshund!!

The Doggie Doo game gives players a chance to scoop up as many plasticine Dachshund dog faeces as possible in order to win.

The dice game, from manufacturer John Adams, retails for up to £24 with some experts hotly tipping the game to be the UK's No1 best seller this Xmas. Dog faeces is set to become a socially acceptable form of family fun!



Next up is Plop Trumps.

Yes I know we have featured this on the blog before, but its a gift for all ages and is still available for only £5.99, online or in some souvenir shops. 

I saw it for sale in Covent Garden last week - so grab a packet today and watch your kids' eyes light up when you get them to play with shit after their Xmas lunch!

For  only £1.28 you can get your hands on a very realistic rubber dog poo that will have your granny recoiling in horror at the sight of it on her dinner plate.

Grab your camera and be prepared to capture the true essence of Xmas.

I hope this gives you a few ideas - have a Merry "dog shit free" Christmas.

:-)

CCTV - This Time A Dilemma

The issue of CCTV has been raised on this blog before. For an example, see here.

This example is, however, a little unusual and raises the serious question of whether or not the actions of the lady in the video were correct.

The Lady clearly understands the "bag it, bin it" message. This is clearly a good thing and we should all be grateful for that. But there is an issue regarding standing by while your dog fouls somebody's front garden. Should the dog have been better trained? Should the lady have thrust a bag under the dog before the garden was fouled? Is trespassing justified for the purpose of clearing up dog excrement?

I don't claim to have the answers. I do know that my neighbour's dog had escaped today and it came into the road to greet me. I took it home. Was I trespassing?

Lastly, I remember Nena and her 99 Red balloons. What on earth has that record got to do with dog fouling?

After you have seen the video, I will leave you to answer the questions posed above.

Devon County Council - Grass Them Up!

Councillor Rodney Cann of Devon County Council has dipped his toe into the difficult arena of dog fouling.

Councillor Cann

Councillor Cann has hit upon a great idea; through the council, he is asking residents to give details of offenders to the authorities so that action can be taken. "If anyone has any information about irresponsible owners, we want to know about it so we can hold them accountable." I think Rodney has hit the nail on the head here. I would also like to suggest a strap line for this campaign. Rodney, you are free to use it!

They Foul Up The Grass - You Grass Them Up!

Recently we were in Scotland, now we are in Devon. This is truly a problem, which affects us from end to end of the British Isles.

Full article here.

Dog Fouling 'Out of Control' in West Fife....

So reports Gary Fitzpatrick of the Dunfermline press.

Feelings are running high in Kelty. Resident Alex Rowley calls for "a war of action". He further advocates that Kelty should "use surveillance cameras to gain the evidence to take the action needed and we should be prosecuting those responsible".

As our readers and followers will be aware, we have featured CCTV on this site before. A good example can be seen here.

This has caused a reaction from MSP and West Fife villages SNP councillor Bill Walker, who agrees that dog fouling is an "appalling problem" but believes that has always been the case - even when Labour ran the council. Thus we see politics once again intertwined with the issue of dog fouling.

Strange that Danny Kushlick polled so little at the last election!

What can I say? When I see this and look at many of the posts on this blog, I form the view that Scotland seems to have dog fouling issues from coast to coast. What do you think? You can leave your views with the Dunfermline press here.

I have commented and I thank them for joining us in this ceaseless campaign for the eradication of crime!

88horatio - A Lover of Fine Food?

88horatio appears to be new to the concept of internet campaigning but he has come straight in at the deep end!

We have often spoken out against the concept of hanging dog poo bags from trees. 88horatio shares our view. That said, he goes in what I consider to be a very strange direction. Having spotted a bag of excrement hanging from a tree he declares "stinking stuff.........you might as well eat it...."

I can't really get my head around that concept. I have published a picture on this blog that I took in my home village here. It shows bags of poo hanging around an overflowing bin. While I experienced disgust (and no small gag reflex!), I felt no desire to consume the various items! It just goes to show how the whole issue of dog fouling can affect your reasoning process.

Thank goodness I have remained stable!

Liam Boss - 8 Year Old Campaigner!

Liam is 8 and is fed up with finding dog excrement in playing fields. He has a solution - ban dogs from all children's parks!

Liam puts dog excrement forward as the reason why England can no longer produce football players, who are good enough to win the world cup.

He has even produced a video to this effect!



We are truly lucky that Liam has neither overreacted nor overstated his case!

Read his full argument (and listen to his radio broadcast!) here.