Streetlife

i once offered a fellow dog owner one of my poop bags as he had not cleaned up i got a mouthful of abuse and told you pick it up if your so concerned .... what shocked me the most it wasnt a youngman he was at least in his fifties ...... i did pick it up as it was right out side the school gate

Yes dirty dog owners clean up after your pet,along high road west horrid with left dog poo.

And yet there's probably not a single dog owner that would admit to doing it.  Everyone knows it's wrong, but some people are just too bloody lazy.  I would bet that they're the same people who park their cars badly and put the wrong stuff in the recycling bins.  
Their "hectic 24/7 lifestyle" (i.e. never off their phones) doesn't leave any time to actually be part of a community.

Hi Christine,

Wel leaving near to Allenby Park , we have a continual flow of dog owners coming down St Andrews road and Constable road and the amount of dog poo these people leave behind is unbelievable, also the park is a favourite place to ignore picking up. I witnessed one day this women letting her dog poo in the garden next door to myself. And of course when approached she just walked off.
The two roads I speak of, are again used for dog walkers late at night and it is like dogging thru a mine field.
It is not the dogs fault, but the owners, I do not say everyone is the same , as I own a dog and have done so for many years, but we all get tarred with the same brush.

It is time the law was taken seriously and dog owners became responsible for their dogs actions.

Maybe it's time for some name and shame action.  We pretty much all carry mobile phones which take pictures.  If you see someone not clear up, and after politely pointing it out (it is possible to be looking the wrong way when the dog does it), if you get abuse or the owner refuses, then take their picture and send it to the local papers.

I believe I read recently that there have been as little as 2 prosecutions in the last 5 years, so the Council, although able to fine, do not have the resources to police all the streets all the time.

Unfortunately I believe that most of the offenders do it after dark and assume nobody will see.

Yes, as I have said before, I am a responsible owner, and it is my duty to be aware of exactly where my dog is all the time I am out with him, even if I am chatting to someone.  You see people on the prom texting while their dog is several yards behing pooing on the beach.  Of course, as always, we are preching to the converted on here.

Hi Nick,

Yes you are right, I followed this women from Cobbolds point to the Spa and beyond, all that time she Watson her phone , had no idea where her dog was. In fact at one time by the Fludyers, it was in the road andi calleditonto the prom.

She was at least 100 yards in front of me and yes her dog done a poo on the beach and she had no idea. I wonder how many times a week she does this walk, more interest in her phone, than her dog.

To be fair Richard most people who spend their lives on their phones are FAR TOO BUSY to clean up dog poo, even if they were aware their dog was responsible.  On the odd occasion I've reminded dog owners to clean up (even offering them a bag ... I always have a dozen in my jacket pocket), I have received abuse ("Get a bleeding life, grandad") or just been totally ignored.  
Maybe the digital equivalent of "name and shame" would work now?  Would the local paper get involved?

This is an idea a community came up with to deal with it in a non-confrontational way.

http://www.falkirk.gov.uk/services/corporate_neighbourhood/estates_management/litterzone/community/g...

My tuppenceworth is there should be a dog license with chipping and DNA testing which would also control dangerous dogs and protect more  of them from neglect.

The promenade and the West End beach are also getting a liberal sprinkling of "offensive material". Most of the problem occurs when owners let their dogs off the lead and then turn conveniently away when the dog is fouling the area-all too often these owners are local, young and female!

Read that article on Green Dog Walking Nat.  Excellent idea.   I wonder who we could approach to get Felixstowe to adopt such a scheme - It wouldn't be difficult to sell, surely - it's a real positive to help tourism.  "Dog friendly, but clean."

I don't know about Felixstowe but I would assume your town council is the place to start. Find out who there has the environment remit. Email them the link.

Who are the dog interest groups? Ask the local vets, trainers, pet shops, animal charities to back the scheme plus the local media. Also the tourism and business groups should back it because it's in their interest. Unfortunately it comes down to somebody has to do the leg work. However, I think in this case the somebody could be paid to solve the problem. How much is dog mess costing the community? Could a dog mess CIC be formed to tackle it, empowered to fine dog owners? A £100 or so FPN properly enforced could pay for employing dog wardens who promote the green dog scheme with the public but back it up with some real teeth (!) if necessary. 

walked along the beach at the fludyer end..had to really look where i was goin for the amount of dog poo..its such a shame as the beach..i thought..was a recreational area for people..just the thought of kids playing on there with all that mess...such a pity. the beach being used as a dogs toilet..i always have to check my shoes when i come off there in case i cart in the the van and into my house. ther really is no need for this to still be happning..people are educated how dangerous dog poo can be especially to children risking blindness etc..just so irrisponsible..unfortunatly i didnt see who it was..it had been there a little while. but i will take a picture if i catch anyone letting their dog foul somewhere. im just amazed it hasnt been banned from the beaches considering its where people like to sit down for a picnic and swim and play...those same dog woalkers  would soon kick up a stink if there was excrement in school playgrounds and kids were carting it back to their nice homes....i dont see much difrence personally..i think it would be better if it was on the prom..at least you could see it better and is more obvious and easier to pick up i would think..the problem is rife everywhere tho..heavier fines for those caught for a start..and a name and shame. and ban from the beach.as for paths..well..how disgusting is that? where everyone walks and outside peoples homes. i really do  not understand why this continues. just wish they would pick it up. if they are goin to own a dog then they should be responsible about it..otherwise they should bring back dog licenses and if caught it gets put on the license and two strikes they get banned from owning a dog. the risks and unpleasantness definatly warrant that in my opinion. harsh but necessary.

its a pity a group of volunteer people cant have some kind of power given to them so they can patrol the streets and beach just making sure dog owners pick up the poo. and if not a pic can be taken and then they can be reported and subsequently fined. there has to be a solution to this problem..its not just a nuisance its a health risk and its just disgusting basically............................lol >>> putting soap box away now.......>>>>>>>>>

I agree wholeheartedly with Melanie A re this issue. I am wondering just how long we can retain the prestigeous Blue Flag with this level of pollution on so many beaches! The problems with dogs are made worse by people letting them off their leads (as I've already stated) but it is not restricted to these cases as the extending leads that have, unfortunately, become all too common mean that dogs are not suitably controlled or restrained when causing a nuisance. Try sitting and reading a paper or book on the prom or in nearby gardens and you'll soon find out what I mean (particularly when the "responsible" owner gets so far ahead of the dog that they haven't clue what is going on behind them).  

Why can't felixstowe use the cameras they set up? Looks like the dog mess and the dirty owners is getting out of hand and something has to be done.

Nat,just read your info.cant that be printed in our local paper so all can read?educating the dirty people campaign.LOL

Emma, be my guest. I don't live in Felixstowe so I can't do much more than putting information here.

I can't understand why these CCTV cameras are not used for the purpose of identifying both the dog fouling problem and the cycling issues that we have also discussed in this "Conversation". It may be that there are simply no resources or funding/volunteers available for the time consuming and labour intensive task of viewing the footage from the now many locations covered by the cameras in the town and alongside the promenade? I do remember that there was a call for volunteers to man/person the screens of the CCTV cameras at some stage in the past but I'm not aware of the response from the public at the time and whether there is still a problem. I'm also not sure re the position re sending footage from the cameras to a third party (e.g. SCDC or SCC for the purposes of monitoring/detecting problems such as in the Shared Space scheme in operation on Hamilton Road)?? I do know that the public could get themselves into a lot of trouble if they used cameras/camcorders in certain situations (e.g. alongside the prom and beach and also where a young person is involved) - there was a case about six years ago where a camcorder was being used in suspicious and potentially sinister circumstances and I suspect that any well meaning/public spirited person could come under the spotlight/microscope if misunderstood.

I honestly think that the Environmental Health Officers should be consulted re the issue of dog fouling and advice be sought before proceeding too far as school holidays and an early Easter are not too far away.

There have been studies that show CCTV is not very effective as evidence for convictions. http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/may/18/cctv-crime-police

It is useful in mass public order or traffic situations for directing policing but resolution is often too poor to secure a conviction. I and about 20 other people were once witnesses to a daylight smash and grab raid and there were hundreds of photos taken, some appearing in the EDP, but none of them caught faces of the robbers.

Very basically it is not illegal for members of the public to video or photograph people in a public place so long as it is not done with intent to cause distress or alarm, that does include filming children though doing that around a playground might arouse suspicion. There's no reason someone can't photograph a dog owner walking away from a fresh deposit. You would have to be careful to get a photo before, during and after if it was to be used to obtain a conviction but you could post them here or set up a blog to 'name and shame'. There are several blogs on inconsiderate parking (one of which has a NSFW url).

The EHO should be consulted and the public should also make their views know to their Safer Neighbourhood Team (SNT) and their regular forums where the police ask the community for their priorities. If enough people ask, then more patrols by PCSO of the beaches might result.

The danger of Toxocariasis is real http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Toxocariasis/Pages/Introduction.aspx and if there were more posters of the child that was blinded http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-11012044 it might make people think, though I doubt the really persistent offenders care at all.

Okay.  I can understand how people are irritated, disgusted, annoyed etc about this issue.

I have read the Falkirk initiative stuff, and am very pleased to see that I already (and a huge, yes huge number of dog owning friends and aquaintances), meet every criteria of the pledge.  Frankly to me, isn't this what every decent human being would want to do?

You are not going to get any council to take action.  Just because they have a byelaw doesn't even mean they have the resource to use it and be effective.  You could have ten wardens in Felicstowe, but they can't be everywhere all the time 24/7.  The irresponsible owners are mostly covert, not blatant.  Yes you will get some during the day as I have mentioned earlier, but mostly they go out after dark.  I have also seen where a lot of parents get their teenagers to walk the dogs, but of course dog poo is far too gross for them to deal with (again not all, just some).

BUT !!!   Please please let's not get so emotive that ALL dogs must be on leads at ALL times and NEVER allowed on the beach.  OR should we ban ALL youngsters from driving ANY car ANYWHERE, because some may cause a nuisance?  I honestly find this sort of reaction to be so over the top.  Dog's have been man's best friend for centuries and we are the biggest nation of dog owners in the World (I believe).  Dogds bring joy and love and happiness to millions of decent law abiding people.  I would have been lost without my retriever over the last 2 years due to some circumstances.  He also brings joy to most people who meet him.  He is a lovely soft soppy chap with a huge heart.  I cherish him and treat him like I would treat anyone.  He is also well disciplined becasue he has been responsibly trained to be.  But I am also acutely aware of the fact that he is a dog, and I don't take anything for granted.  I talk for nearly every dog owner I know in Old Felixstowe who would say exactly the same.  So please let's be balanced about this.

Irresponsible fouling is a huge problem.  Not new.  Not worse than ever before, but there nonetheless.  Yes, let's try and do what we can to improve the situation, but not start a 'let's make dogs illegal' campaign.

I am willing to back the idea of us licensing the Falkirk scheme.  I would like some support to do so though.  I will start by writing to Richard Cornwell about it and saying that I wold be willing to look into it.

Anyone on my side here?  Preferably dog owners?

Totally with you Nick.  As you say, dog fouling is not a new problem, and it's considerably less of a problem than it was 20 years ago.  However, it has also been highlighted by the "wrap your children in cottonwool" brigade as being "highly dangerous to health" - which is a complete nonsense - a few moments research reveals a total of ZERO children blinded by wiping dog poo into their eyes ....

But, as you say, some people will use dog fouling as an excuse to stop dogs running free.  As if being on a lead stops a dog wanting to poo!!

Write to Richard by all means and add my name to the list of willing supporters for a green collar scheme.