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Permalink Reply by b14mom on March 9, 2012 at 13:52

how about we expand the discussion to cover 'how can we encourage kings heath dog owners to act more responsibly and not allow their dog to foul pavements, grass verges and our green open spaces'.  as a mom to two small children and a frequent pusher of a pram and a jogger i'm disgusted by the amount of dog poo i have to avoid when walking around kings heath.

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Permalink Reply by Alf Tupper on March 28, 2012 at 11:36

if it wasnt for Dog poo a lot of wild flowers & rare Fungi would not flourish

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Permalink Reply by Jan Tchamani on October 16, 2012 at 12:48

I'm interested in this reply. What wild flowers and rare fungi like dog poo?

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Permalink Reply by Kids Run Free on May 16, 2012 at 14:50

We recently used Kings Heath Park for event and found it remarkably free of dog poo. Have had big problems in Brueton Park in Solihull! A friend of mine takes a can of yellow spray paint with her when she walks her dog and sprays any 'deposits' she finds. It dosn't get rid of them, but it reduces the chances of 'contamination' and helps to highlight the problem.

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Permalink Reply by Jan Tchamani on October 16, 2012 at 12:47

We regularly get locals bringing their dogs to do their business on the beautiful area of grass between the two blocks on our estate, and under our ash tree, and elsewhere on the estate, in the same way that we get bottles and cans flung across the grass. They know perfectly well what they're doing (the owners, I mean!). We can only (if it's not too late) try to speak to them from the safety of our balconies, but usually get a mouthful of abuse. There aren't enough police on the streets to catch them, and anyway the police have so many other priorities... I believe it would help to raise the dog licence fee to a level that actually reflects the responsibility a person takes on when they get one, to increase the penalties for fouling and not picking it up anywhere in public, and to make it compulsory for dog owners to take their animals to have health checks from time to time, to ensure dog owners take caring for a dog seriously. If people had to invest more money in their pets, perhaps they would take their responsibilities more seriously.

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Permalink Reply by Lyndsey Michaels on December 7, 2012 at 12:18

Hi all

I know this is a relatively old thread but Gavin and me have both noticed an increase in dog poo on our street (Grange Rd) and surrounding streets recently. It's worse in the winter months as it's darker earlier and it's not always visible! Blergh.

Anyway, these are a couple of tweets from the Environmental Health people today ( @ehbham ) (following some discussion about fly tippers)

"i agree inconsiderate dog owners are worse. We've been working hard on trying to stop fouling and we will serve FPN's"

I then asked if there was anything else residents can do; they replied:

"get a good desc. of dog & owner, together with time, date & location and report it to us here> alturl.com/68zix Thanks"

That link is to their page on the BCC website:http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/straydogs and there is a button to report other animal related issues

I can't recall the last time I actually spotted someone letting their dog do its thing, so don't know how often 'a description of the dog & owner' would be reportable, but we could certainly report the dates & locations when we encounter some poo - it might show up a pattern (e.g. a particular owner at a certain time each day) which might then encourage a warden to be in the right place at the right time, and manage to fine someone..?

Cheers

Lyndsey

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Permalink Reply by Jan Tchamani on December 8, 2012 at 10:21

I think this is a very useful post - thank you Lyndsey. Some of the problem, as I've been told, is human poo - people who take certain drugs get caught short as it stimulates the bowels. I was shocked to learn that.

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