Dog Messing Me Around

One of the major problems in Reddish is, in my opinion, the sheer volume of dog mess that seems to be clogging up the streets - in particular on Gorton Road.

Now before I start this, can I please point something out? I am not the sort of person to take my grievances to the local newspaper at the first opportunity. I am not the sort of person that writes a letter that is sub-edited by the paper with a witty title - written under a pseudonym. I, dear reader, am simply one man. One man that's trod in a lot of dog mess on Gorton Road.

I've called Stockport Council twice so far about the mess that's being left on the road, only to be told that they have 'signs' up telling people they could be fined £50 if their dog vents it's bowels on the street. These signs amount to little more than glorfied window stickers stuck to a lamp post - very similar in style to the one below:

Firstly, the lady on the phone was apologetic - Stockport, she said 'has a problem' with dog mess in the streets (depressing, no?). She promised to send a clean-up team to the stretch of Gorton Road that was affected. She then passed me through to the local dog warden department, who promptly sent some people out to make sure that the stickers were stuck to the right lamp posts. They were, yet the dog's mess still remains.

This is incredibly frustrating to me, as I have to walk up Gorton Road to Reddish North train station every morning, and I am constantly having to dodge the mess. I can only image the problem that parents and the less able-bodied members of our community have with dodging this. If it's a nightmare getting out of my shoes, then I can only imagine how hard it is to get it out of the wheels of a pram or wheelchair.

If you own a dog, then if it takes a massive, Mr. Whippy-style crap on the ground whilst you're out walking it, PICK IT UP. If you can't bend down to pick up your dog's mess, then you shouldn't own a dog. I don't care how old you are, there are plenty of tools and utensils on the market to help cope with the stuff coming out of your dog.

And if you are concerned about the amount of dog mess that is in your area of Reddish, then please contact the council. They receive over 700 complaints about fouling in the Stockport area a year, so they've  put together an online form to help you organise a street cleansing. Street cleansing sounds like quite a dodgy term, but trust me, it's a Good Thing.

I would imagine that a good 98% of dog owners in the Reddish area are conscientious, and clean up after their furry friends. But, as always, the 2% of people that cannot be bothered to pick up after themselves are making the streets of Reddish a lot less appealing to residents and visitors.

I'd like the council to lead from the front on this, and not leave it to the residents. I've seen some great signage up in Wigan, which is clear, hard to tamper with, and stands out.

What do you think? Do you have a problem with dog fouling in your area? Do you have any examples of a community catching persistent foulers in the act? If so, share your story below...

By Ben Stroud