I take immense pride in our villages and I'm sure that most people visiting this site share my affection for our communities. Almost everyone I meet at events or talk with in the street is keen to ensure that they do their bit to look after their particular neighbourhood.
The one glaring exception however is the tiny minority of irresponsible dog owners who continue to convince themselves that it is somehow acceptable to allow their dogs to turn our streets into open sewers.
I began a campaign last month to try to get communities come together to work with the council to tackle this problem (see post dated 5 September 2012) yet I continue to receive reports daily of piles of excrement heaped onto our pavements, often in critical areas around schools, outside residential properties or on playing fields.
It is understandable that residents are reluctant to report such incidents because they feel they are "grassing" on their neighbours. I don't want to see people fined, especially in these financially difficult times, but I do not find it acceptable that our children are forced to wade through piles of dog dirt on their way to and from school or whilst playing on our open spaces. Neither do I find it acceptable for people to be forced to clean their car interior, carpets and pram/pushchair wheels each time they return home, simply because a handful of misguided dog owners feel they have the right to allow their pets to use our streets as an open toilet.
The council is not able to address this problem alone and that is why I appeal again to you to make irresponsible dog owners aware that their actions are unacceptable. If they then continue to persist in their mission they have no-one but themselves to blame for the consequences.
