It's a right mess dog owners can get our kids into

A Southport councillor and a mum-of-two have joined forces to appeal to dog owners to 'bag it and bin it' to keep our streets clean and protect local children.

Trying to tackle the perennial problem of pooping pooches and their obstinate owners refusing to clear up after them is no walk in the park though, as Norwood Ward Councillor Greg Myers explains:

"This is an unappealing issue in every sense but it sadly needs to be highlighted regularly due to certain owners who seem to have little regard for their neighbours or their communities."

"I've just put up another 50 or so warning signs covering from the Sussex, Tithebarn, St Lukes Rd area, over to the likes of Bispham, Russell Wennington and Canning roads and my ward colleagues and I have tackled it many times over the years."

"It shouldn't really be that difficult a problem - you simply clear up after your dog and put it in a waste bin, either on the street, in a park or at home. That's it, jobbie done, so to speak."

"Instead, for reasons that I can never fully fathom, a few frankly faecal owners think it's just fine to leave the contents of their canine presented on our pavements. It's disgusting and unhygienic of them, not the dogs." 

"Even more bizarre to my mind, some owners go to the trouble of bagging it and then just fling it away - what on earth possesses you to think that's OK? Just take the thing home to dispose of if you have to - it's your pet's poop after all." 

"No one else wants to see it dangling from branches or thrown into bushes or behind junction boxes, or indeed to have to navigate street walkways like you're Michael Flatley." 

Local mum Hattie McCall contacted the councillor after growing increasingly frustrated at having to pick her way along pavements with her pram concerned for the welfare of her two young girls, aged four months and three. Hattie commented:

"It's incredibly unpleasant. If people would just take a little more care and show a little more consideration it would go a long way to helping improve matters. I'm constantly worried when out with the pram that something is going to get caught in the wheels or that my toddler will step into it." 

"With a baby, you are terrified of anything unhygienic going anywhere near them and yet our streets are littered with this stuff because some owners think it's up to others to clear up their dog's mess." 

"It really isn't, and irresponsible owners should think about the problems they cause. I’d love our family and others to be able to grow up in an area we love and are proud of without this issue”

 "I'd also urge owners to think about how they'd feel if a small child becomes ill due to their being simply too lazy to do the right thing.”

Councilor Myers continued:

"With a three-year-old myself, I know how difficult this can be and really do implore local dog owners to just take plenty of poop bags with them each time they go out for walkies."

"And if they can't find a bin nearby, simply double bag it and take it home. It's really not that hard to do and we'd all really appreciate it, as it's a problem across Southport."