Mr Hankey the Christmas Poo

While not specifically about dog fouling, I think we should all acknowledge that this song highlights our collective obsession with the production of faeces.

 

It is seasonal and combines Christmas with the act of fouling. What more could we want at this time of year?




Gibraltar - Your Signs Aren't Working!!!

Sign on Gibraltar

South East Operative "AN" recently visited Gibraltar on "business". He was struck by the artistry shown in the sign depicted above. There is a touching aspect of innocence about the picture, having been produced by young children.

 

That said, it's very rare for sentiment to achieve anything. Gibraltar, you have failed! The pile below was pictured in close proximity to the sign above!

  



  

No wonder the Spanish periodically close the border. Would you want that trailed into your country?

Rochford Council - We Salute You - Absolute Legends!

"Poo to me is Disgusting"

 

 

What an amazing line! Once in every generation, a song comes along to capture the imagination and lead the entire nation in thought and deed! Rochford council has achieved such a feat with this amazing song!

 

Cathy Cook of Rochford Council wrote and sang this absolute barnstormer. I don't know how it will make you feel but, on hearing the song, I went out and kicked a massive pile of dog excrement. I achieved nothing but that's not the point!

 

Thanks must go to two of our operatives, who worked together across many miles to bring this to us. Operatives "Trish" from Manchester and "ML" from Cornwall, we acknowledge your commitment to the cause, thank you so much!

 

It only remains to get dancing to this tremendous work of art!
 

This Isn't Funny!!!

Don't ever do this, it isn't funny!

 

I'm surprised the husband lived to tell the tale!

Turdlebag: Improving Social Lives Daily

I can only speak for myself but I have frequently embraced a young girl and then smeared dog faeces down her back.

 

Thank goodness for this invention!

 

 



A Work of Art

The following is a true work of art. I don't know which I admire the most, creating it or filming it and translating into English!

Either way, it reinforces the international nature of the problem and also demonstrates that chucking it into hedges is actually an international sport!
 

 

Don't Let Your Dog Foul Parks!

Sound advice but this dog took it a bit too far!

 

Obviously not wanting to foul a park, the dog in this video decided to foul the middle of a busy and dangerous road. The Russian habit of using video cameras in case of road traffic collision captured the moment perfectly.

 

We salute this dog, it clearly cares about the state of recreational areas!

 

 

We've Seen Fireworks Before

This is a variation on a theme! It really doesn't do anything for the cause other than to show, once again, that dog fouling is firmly embedded into our culture!
 

You're Singing On Stage When You Smell Something

What do you do?

 

Well, this lady did the decent thing and left the stage to remove the offending substance. There's little more to be said about this one other than to observe that it has taught respect to all!

As the lady looks at her feet, the singer comes out with the words (I think) "I'm just looking for a doctor". You can imagine what I thought she was singing!

 



Music Again (Of Sorts!)

If you can understand the words of this song then you're doing better than I did!

 

That said, there are words repeated several times that you might recognise.

 

Enjoy!

 



An Overreaction?

Possibly, possibly not!

 

Here on this blog, we have covered most aspects of this stomach churning menace. That said, even I couldn't produce a 6 minute 55 second video delivering what I would describe as a quiet rant about dog fouling.

 

Also, we have always eschewed politics on this blog. That said, we cannot agree with the concept that there is a "right" and "left" aspect to dog fouling. We have found that it is international and cross class and race.

 

I suggest you make a cup of tea/coffee or get a glass of water and then sit back and relax for 6 minutes 55 seconds as you enjoy this video!
 

What Would You Do If Your Dog Fouled A Person's Drive?

Would you enter the drive and clean up the mess? I hear you shouting "yes, of course!".

 

Well, that's exactly what happened in Santa Fe. A gentleman opened his car door and his dog escaped into a private drive and relieved itself. The man entered the drive to clear up the mess. The female occupied feared he was a criminal and called the Santa Fe police. Quite understandably, a police officer turned up with a rifle at the ready and pointed it at said gentleman.

 

All was well in the end, no harm done. That said, if that had happened to me, it wouldn't have been just the dog that defecated in the driveway that day!

Is Dog Fouling Newsworthy?

Some would say it is. Sometimes, of course, it becomes newsworthy without any action being taken to make it so.

 

Take the news video shown below as an example. Right in the middle of the news with no effort on the part of anyone (except, perhaps, the dog!).

 

The negative side is that nobody clears up. The positive is that the offending matter will be washed out to sea to join the whale and dolphin deposits abounding in the ocean!

Just before going to press, I read a post on Twitter from a Paul Martin (@ukcameraman). It appears that Paul is the very man, who filmed this. He advises that the dog merely had a wee into the water. We thank Paul for clearing this up. The ocean is a little more inviting as a result!

 

 

Some Of The Songs On This Blog Have Been Bad

That said, I don't think we've hit these depths before!

 

"Why post it then?" I hear you ask. Perhaps I'm not sure! I can only suggest that its value lies in the way it proves how dog fouling now dominates even the world of artistic licence!

 

 

We Haven't Gone Away.....

.....and neither has the problem!

We are busy, things are slow but look at this on a footpath near my house!

The battle continues!

CCTV Strikes Again!



San Marino, California, Mayor Dennis Kneier

What do you do if you are a politician and somebody opposes you? Generally speaking, you defeat them with the power of reasoned debate. To throw dog excrement onto somebody's lawn would be "poor judgement". Even worse judgement would be to do it in front of CCTV in a garden, where the owner has a "no poop" sign erected for all to see.

We can only congratulate Dennis on this act of redistribution of faeces. If nothing else, it has demonstrated that he is not a politician to "mess" with.

 



Poop Terror at 30,000ft

We've heard of "Snakes on Planes", well now we have an even worse terror at 30,000 feet - "Dogs on Planes" - or "Dogs Pooping on Planes" to be exact.

A US Airways flight was forced to make an emergency landing after a dog relieved itself twice in the plane's aisle causing passengers to vomit as they became overwhelmed by the stench. Flight 598 took off from LA for Philadelphia last week and it seems as if the pet dog, Truffles, just couldn't wait.

CBS takes up the story ...

"The smell and possibly just the sight made numerous passengers sick!!!"

Poor Truffles - doesn't he look genuinely sorry for what he has done? :-)

Tim Tells It How It Is!

Tim MacFarlan of the News Shopper is clearly not a man to mince his words. He has latched onto a notice seen displayed in Dartford in Kent.

 

While we advocate courtesy at all times, sometimes route 1 is the best way!

Again, we thank South East Operative JH for bringing this well crafted and meaningful sign to our attention!

 

 

Respect!

Full article here.

Poo Free Parks and Talking Dogs in Denver, Colorado

Poo Free Parks is an organisation of kindred spirits situated in Denver, Colorado. As they explain: "Through a new and unique public-private partnership, Poo Free Parks® supplies, installs, and maintains Earth-Friendly Bag Dispensers filled with free biodegradable Pet Poo Bags to dog owners walking their furry friends in neighborhood and city parks throughout the United States. Poo Free Parks provides this service at no ongoing costs to the Municipality or taxpayer."

 

This is, of course, a most commendable enterprise and we absolutely support it. That said, how on earth did they manage to teach dogs to talk? Also, having taught the dogs to speak, who told them that it was funny to watch people treading in their faces?

 

If we teach dogs to act and speak like this, what hope is there?

 

 

After the Thaw Is Over - Halifax - Nova Scotia

Dogs and their owners enjoy a walk along a poop-free path in Point Pleasant Park

 



Life in Canada is very hard during the winter months. Imagine the cold and feet of snow! Then, imagine thee dog faeces flowing at the time of the great thaw!

 

It would appear that Halifax residents are not picking up as they should. Frozen dog waste then flows through the streets at the time of the thaw. Just imagine how many tons lie frozen, just waiting to cascade through the streets.

 

This means that not every pile can be targeted. Therefore "city crews will scoop any poop on paths or roadways, but scat that’s scattered in the woods or out of the way is left to Mother Nature". Here we see a fine example of prioritisation of resources.

 

If nothing else, this, once again, demonstrates the international aspects of the fouling problem.

 

Thanks to the Metro here.

Maidstone - A Work of Art?

Maidstone is the County Town of Kent. Just outside the Star Arcade is a small, colonnade type area. Now we are aware that dog fouling is an issue but how on earth did any dog manage to produce the trail pictured below? It is a veritable work of art!

 

I cannot begin to picture how this happened. Did the owner run out of bags? I don't know but I take my hat off to the dog and owner, this is truly spectacular!

 

 

 

It's A Dog Eat Dog World

Animal behaviour expert Sophie Marriott



Well, at very least, it's a dog eat dog faeces world. So says animal behaviour expert Sophie Marriott, pictured above. Once again, we are indebted to the News Shopper for its willingness to highlight the issues and also to Operative 'JH' for his unyielding devotion to the cause.

 

In a nutshell, this article is about the problem of dogs eating dog faeces. I will leave you, dear reader, to assess the report yourself. I will merely make the observation that, surely, this is a 'win win' for all concerned. The faeces are produced and then immediately cleared up by another passing dog. Am I missing something? That said, I don't have to clean the carpet afterwards!

 

Article here.

Councillor Simon Hoar, Croydon, We Salute you!

Cllr Simon Hoar

Once again, we thank SE Operative "JH" for his commitment to the cause!

 

Politics and dog fouling have often been shown to mix on this blog. Many will remember Danny Kushlick, who featured on this blog as he sought to take dog fouling into mainstream politics. He failed!

 

For us, politics become relevant only as regards dog fouling!

 

We now have the Conservative Party coping with another expenses scandal and looking to deflect the ever growing attack from UKIP. It therefore follows naturally that Conservative councillor Simon Hoar of Croydon should focus on dog fouling.

 

The Croydon Guardian reports on his recent efforts. Branded as a new tactic (?), Croydon Council is placing stencilled pictures on pavements in fouling hot spots to deter offenders.

 

 

 

As well as the above pictured stencil, Simon delivers this chilling threat to offenders: “If they get caught they’ll soon feel the pain of a fine and the possibility of an expensive prosecution.” Frankly, Labour and UKIP must be quaking in their boots at this blistering onslaught! The full article can be read here.

 

To close, I would urge Simon and others to remember SNP politician John Mason. As reported on this blog here, dog fouling and politics did not equal ongoing success!

 

 



Have You Ever Seen A Picture Of A Cat Defecating?

 

 

 

I very much doubt it! I certainly haven't. This is because, culturally, cat fouling is not part of our psyche.

 

Operative "JH" has sniffed out another gem; a series of pictures, where dog fouling has ruined the intended result. Personally, I think the fouling has added quality but that could be just my perspective!

 

However you see this, we thank "Newshoud" for its diligence in bringing this to the attention of the world.

 

Article here.

Theresa Ritchie - We Salute You!

Again, we thank Operative "JH" for highlighting this one!

As those of us, who watch "Buffy The Vampire Slayer", will be aware, once in every generation a slayer is sent to battle the forces of darkness. Here at Dog Fouling and Red Rubber Bands, we feel the same can be said as regards the regional war against dog fouling.

 

We are, therefore, delighted to hail Theresa Ritchie of Peterhead! Theresa is no stranger to receiving accolades for her anti-litter work with her group "Pick Up Peterhead".

 

Here we see the coveted "Green Butterfly" award being presented on behalf of Aberdeenshire Environmental Forum:

 

 

Below, Theresa receives "Hero of the Month" for her group from Lord Purvis of Tweed on behalf of Clean up Scotland!

 

 

It is, therefore, no surprise that Theresa has developed her own method of dealing with dog excrement. She decorates it with food! Yes, Theresa uses strawberries and Nutella! As Theresa puts it: “People in Peterhead are regularly stepping on dog mess on the pavements. I wanted to highlight the problem in an amusing way". Her handiwork can be seen below!

 

 

 

Theresa, if only we had more people like you!

 

Article here.

 

Exeter Services - Make Your Mind Up!

Here at Dog  Fouling and Red Rubber Bands, we advocate compliance with rules and regulations. Therefore, it is always disappointing to be met with ambiguity and a veritable invitation to break a rule if, indeed the rule exists.

 

Exeter Services provides us with just such a conundrum. Below, you will see a "No Dogs" sign. This is attached to a fence behind a shrub with a recreation area behind it.

 

 

 

Yet when we look from another angle, we see, on that expanse of land, two dog waste bins (and a right nice pair they are, too!). The picture below is looking at the sign and the bins. How can it be compatible to give the instruction "No Dogs" and then provide the bins?

 

 

It is this very kind of confusion, which is causing our streets to flow and I urge Exeter Services to eliminate this ambiguity at once!

 

As an aside, I took a closer picture of these two little beauties. I apologise to the couple in the car just out of the picture. I wasn't photographing you and I hope you have suffered no lasting ill effects!

 

 

 



In Appreciation of Art

We publish a picture of this dog waste bin, situated on the sea front at Dymchurch.

The semi-abstract picture of the dog causes us to stand back in wonder!

Folkstone council, we salute you!

Coronation Street Joins the Campaign

I am an avid watcher of Coronation Street. Over the last 25 years, you could count on your fingers and toes the number of episodes I have missed (or, being Cornish, I certainly could!),

 

I remember a previous reference to "dog muck" when Kevin was talking to Rosie about moving to London. That was clearly the beginning of Corrie reflecting the reality of dog fouling on this long running, down to earth documentary.

 

Last night, they took that next step and reflected the posts on this blog. As you will be aware, we have frequently reported on overflowing bins and the option of delivering full bags to deserving recipients.

 

Therefore, I thank Eileen and Deirdre for this exchange. You can almost taste and smell the reality of this scene. Eccles is the small dog owned by Deirdre's family. The social message, of course, is that Deirdre cleans up!

 

Lastly, we credit this scene to Coronation Street and urge all our readers and followers to watch the series!

 

 

I Think The Message Here Is Clear!

I pointed out in my last post that I was a sociology student in the seventies. I also went to a few Punk Rock concerts. Looking at the lead singer in the video below, he might well have been there with me!

 

I rather feel that the name of the band is in somewhat poor taste and the language leaves a lot to be desired. That said, we applaud the message contained in this offering. It certainly had me pogoing!

 

 

Revolution, Dog Fouling and How Times Change

Now I am no stranger to political discussion. Indeed, I was a sociology student in the seventies. In those days, a discussion at a Labour Students' Group would have focused on revolution, overthrowing the system and having a sit in with a few drinks somewhere.

 

How times have changed! While we once had the stench of revolution in the air, the atmosphere at Hull University Labour Club is now rank with the poisonous atmosphere of dog fouling!

 

As the European elections loom, we can only wonder if UKIP might use some of the material on this site to point out the dangers of introducing foreign practices to the UK. That said, as we are completely apolitical at Dog Fouling and Red Rubber Bands, we will try not to care!

 

 

We All Tread In It Occasionally.........

.....but this is abusing the right!

One Heck Of A Stink In Tower Hamlets!

Councillor Ohid Ahmed
Deputy Mayor of Tower Hamlets

Again, grateful thanks are due to London Operative, JH, for bringing this matter to our attention.

Tower Hamlets is a borough in East London. It has many social challenges and requires firm and innovative management. If reports are true (and we are only reporting the observations of others) then it appears that there is much innovation going on!

 

It would appear that Tower Hamlets operates a poop scooping machine. We see an example of such technology two posts beneath this one. Obviously, such action is good for the people of Tower Hamlets.....or is it? If you take the view of Tower Hamlets Labour Party, then it certainly isn't! They headline their report with the words: "Deputy Mayor puts his foot in it! £41k a year spent on cleaning up dog mess on the street he lives".

 

According to the allegation, "Council documents uncovered by Tower Hamlets Labour have shown how a £41,385 contract to clean up dog mess in the borough is used to clean the same 11 streets in Deputy Mayor Ohid Ahmed's ward every day of the week. The tax payer cash funds a 'dog fouling removal machine' which operates the same set route each day, centred around the street where Cllr Ahmed lives.

 

The route takes in a tiny corner of the borough which is entirely contained within Cllr Ahmed's ward, with his street being the only one cleaned twice a day. The machine runs the same route 5 days a week, totally ignoring the rest of the borough's densely populated streets, despite residents increasingly complaining about filthy streets and the Council not dealing with dog mess".

 

What do we conclude from this? I don't really know. Suffice it to say that we see dog fouling at the forefront of a political battle. Here at Dog Fouling and Red Rubber Bands we are apolitical. That said, we feel it is good to see politicians legitimately talking excrement!

 

Labour Party article here.

 

 

 

 

Examples of the Use of Video

From Sherwood Road, Meols in The Wirral to a confusing location, possibly misspelled but probably in Northern Ireland, we see the use of video surveillance to capture acts of dog fouling.

 

Why is this being done? Is it to prosecute offenders or make society safer? I don't think so. It seems to be to enable us to complain and spread the word about the menace of fouling, which blights our society!

 

Whatever the reason, enjoy these contributions!

 

Sherwood Road

 

 

Somewhere In Northern Ireland

 



 

Have some of that!

Faeces Intake Disposal Operation (FIDO)

Our more attentive readers and followers will remember the FIDO initiative introduced by Nottingham City Council.

Some of you might have felt that it was a costly initiative, destined to fail. If you did think that, events are suggesting that you are wrong. Wesley and his two colleagues target the city's hotspots, using Facebook and Twitter to stay ahead of the flowing streets.

I like these two videos. They show the machine in action and also an interview with Wesley, who explains how he and his colleagues operate.
 

 

 

 

 

I like the way Wesley hesitates as he gets to the word "faeces". Was he going to say "poo" or something else? We will never know!

Now here is the dilemma. It appears from the video that the streets of Nottingham City are awash. The FIDO and its drivers do an excellent job of removing all traces. But should dog owners in Nottingham now clean up? Let's face it, if they do, Wesley and two others face the prospect of redundancy. would we want to see that in this era of austerity? I think not!

For the sake of Wesley and his colleagues, long may the streets of Nottingham provide employment!

DNA Again

DNA as a tool in the battle against dog fouling has frequently featured on this blog.

 

While it might have seemed to have died a death, it clearly hasn't. Naples in Italy has now implemented the use of DNA on an experimental basis.

 

Never mind the Mafia, those dog owners will soon find out what it menas to transgress the unwritten rule!
 

Dog Poo Fairies - They Do Exist!

Kriser's COO Ken Grouf poses with customers in his official Poo Fairy uniform and tandem bike. Courtesy of Kriser's

 

Poo Fairies will visit Houston parks on Saturday and Sunday to promote healthy animal-human relations. (File photo) Courtesy of Kriser's

 

Kriser's officially opens its doors on Buffalo Speedway Feb. 8. (File photo) Courtesy of Kriser's

As you can see, these fairies clearly do exist in Houston! As Ken explains: "Picture these people wearing Kriser's official Poo Fairy suits at a local park. Every time a Poo Fairy spots someone clearing up after their dog, that pet parent get an 'I Scooped' sticker similar to the 'I Voted' stickers you get on Election Day." Free poo bags and coupons are passed along for good measure as well.

 

Ken goes on to explain: "Let's be honest, people get upset and sad when they step in poo. Our teams offer us an opportunity to make areas poo-free and ensure that the animals we love so much never get a bad wrap."

 

Krisers is an all natural and organic pet food supplier. There might well be advertising value in the activities described above and they might provide a commercial reward. I don't know but I thank Culture Map Houston for telling the world of this initiative.

 

Article here.

Kicking Off In Eastern Europe - Again!

Many of our avid readers and followers will remember our hero, Super Vaclav, an Eastern European campaigner, who specialises in returning dog faeces to their rightful owners.

 

It appears that this is something of a pastime in Eastern Europe. While "Super" is active in the Czech Republic, the lady here is Polish and is no less obsessed and showing the effects of many years of over exposure to dog faeces!

 

This video is longer than usual and, in advance, I apologise for the language used. That said, we could see from the beginning where this was likely to lead.

 

We see a ranting, swearing lady confronting members of the public. We know it cannot stop there. It leads to the inevitable return of the faeces. I won't spoil it for you, this one is worth watching. I can only hope that there is to be a sequel, possibly with reaction from the dog owners.

 

Prepare to hear some reprehensible words!

 

 

Objetos Perdidos

London, Paris, New York, Dublin ....

It appears everyone is getting in on the dog fouling act these days. The latest city to join the campaign and start to fight back is Madrid, Spain. 

Brunete, a small town just outside of Madrid has come up with an ingenious way to keep its streets clean of dog mess - by sending the offending deposits back to the owners in an official council box marked "Lost Property" or "Objetos Perdidos".

During the course of a week a team of volunteers patrolled the town's streets on the lookout for dog owners who failed to scoop. They then approached the guilty owner and struck up a casual conversation to discover the name of the dog.

"With the name of the dog and the breed it was possible to identify the owner from the registered pet database held in the town hall", explained a council spokesperson.

The volunteers then scooped up the faeces, packaged it in a box with the town hall insignia, marked it as "Lost Property" and delivered it by courier to the pet owners home!

In all, 147 "express poop" deliveries were made and the town has since seen a 70% drop in the amount of dog mess found in its streets.

Another town in Spain - Hernani - has taken things a step further and introduced a law forcing dog owners to register their dog's DNA with the council so that they can be traced if their poo is found in the streets.

Nice one Spain - but what if the owner does the poo in the street - how do you identify them ?

Up the Irish !

I don't think I need to go on any more about how much dog fouling is a truly universal problem that continues to affect people in ever corner of the world.

Not to be outdone - we now find the City of Cork, Eire jumping on the "cheeky" dog fouling advert trail. You may need to concentrate hard on what the dogs are saying and listen to the clip a couple of times, but you will be rewarded with some cracking Irish one liners - "It's about the size of me head !".

Feckin' brilliant :-)

Dog Fouling and Advertising

Now in the following advert, I get the concept of the anti-perspirant helping the lady not to sweat when she sees her ex-boyfriend. Even the song is moderately entertaining.

 

That said, I wonder why dog fouling is also the background theme? The lady is even seen walking off at the end with a full bag.What is it about this subject that causes the advertisers to contrast an attractive young lady with dog faeces?

 

I'm not sure but I am pleased to say that it is further evidence of the way, in which dog fouling has become deeply embedded within our everyday culture!

 



How Many Dog Poo Bags Do You Need?

Well, in the case of this lady, around 100 or so!

 

Why she requires this number I cannot imagine. Is it that she has a pack of dogs at home and has use for the bags? Is she too poor to buy her own when she's out elsewhere? Is she simply absolutely off the wall with a major bag fetish?

 

I don't know but I hope the possession of the entire contents of this bag dispenser brought her happiness!



Another dog poop arrest.

It looks like Police are finally catching onto how useful dog faeces can be in helping identify suspects of crime.

Remember the story about how the Police used dog poop footprints to track down a thief ? Well here is a very similar story that again shows the "power of the poop" in fighting crime.

In the early hours of the morning, Police in Austin, Texas, USA received reports of a suspect breaking into cars on the forecourt of a local car dealership. According to the Police report, there was a pile of dog poop by the cars which the suspect had stepped in and trailed from car to car as he broke into them.

A quick tour of the area and Police soon stopped Andrew Carreira nearby. Carreira said he was out for an evening stroll and hadn't been anywhere near the car lot. A check of his shoes and they were found to be caked in dog shit as well. This damning evidence led to Carreira being arrested and charged with breaking into the cars and he is now enjoying another visit to Travis County Jail.

Presumably he will be adding to his tasteful collection of tattoo's while in prison - might I suggest a tattoo of a pile of dog crap to forever remind himself to be more careful where he walks in the future.

Parks & Recreation under attack !

"He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a bag of dog poop at her." John 8:7

Cornwall, Repeat Victimisation and Heaving Pathways

As all our followers and readers will know, St Agnes in Cornwall has a reputation for stunning beauty. That said, we all know how deceptive appearances can be!

 

I have a long association with the village and have reported on said village on this blog many times. It is now becoming clear that I am being victimised because of my views.

 

I have been aware, for over 50 years, that the village is absolutely swimming in dog faeces. Of course, this is funny until the pile shown below is left on my grass verge. This is far from being the first such instance!

 

 

I shudder to think how big the dog is and I wonder if it is also responsible for this pile a little further down the lane:

 

 

I can't work out if the flecks on the path match the massive pile on the grass verge. There could be two culprits here!

 

Not far from this location is a path running up to the beacon. It is absolutely awash! The two examples below represent a small fraction of the total amount of faeces to be found sliding downhill.

 

As if to mock, I found the sign below on a lamp post at the bottom of British Road. It is clearly old and I don't understand how I haven't seen it before. Perhaps fate guided me to it after I encountered the piles shown above.

 

 





 

I say "well done, St Agnes", it's easy to see why there is a shaded area on the map through the link above!

Along Which Axis Does Your Toilet Align?

 

 

This might appear to be a bizarre and pointless question but, here at Dog Fouling and Red Rubber bands HQ, nothing is without purpose!

 

Alignment has been considered by many over the years to be of great importance. For example, Charles Dickens always carried a compass and aligned his bed to the north, reportedly to cure insomnia and/or to improve his writing. That said, as can be seen here, while point 11 refers to the alignment issue, point 6 also suggests that he had Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (something, of which I cannot be suspected!).

 

It now appears, however, that Old Charlie Boy (as we affectionately call him) might well have had a point. A recent study (and we thank North Kent Operative JK for bringing this to our attention) has shown that dogs align themselves north-south when they defecate. The researchers measured the direction of the body axis of 70 different dogs while they were off-leash during 1,893 acts of defecation and 5,582 acts of urination over a two-year period. They found that, under calm magnetic field conditions, dogs prefer to orient their bodies along the North-South axis when they poop. However, this behaviour did not occur during unstable magnetic field conditions, and the best predictor for this change of behaviour was the rate of change of magnetic declination.

 

I take my hat off to the people, who observed the acts described above. I would now really like to know what they dream about and whether or not they have received any  form of counselling.

 

I'm not sure where this study takes us but feel that it should now be incorporated into evidential requirements if an allegation of failing to clean up goes to court. I would suggest the following template for giving evidence:

 

...I always carry a magnetic field reader when on duty. On (day, date time) I was at (location). I noticed (e.g. the vicar's wife) walking (his/her) dog. I noticed that it was a (e.g. poodle). I saw the dog begin to turn around. Although I am not trained in canine behaviour, I could see that the dog was clearly orienting itself. I was in a stable magnetic field. I noted the alignment of the dog when it stopped moving. It had aligned itself along a north-south axis. It then fouled the (public place) big time. Although (number of ) yards away, the smell was awful and I could virtually taste it. The dog was visibly straining. This was no accident and was obviously conducted with the owner's full awareness as I saw him/her turn his/her head away, east-west, as the stench rose and hit everybody. He/she then left the scene making no attempt to clear up.....

Article here.

 

*Original dog photograph by Joshua Ganderson. Original compass photograph by Calsidyrose