Vigilance needed in battle against this messy problem

I LIFT my toddler son quickly away from another miserable pile of stinky dog’s muck.

We are in one of Cardiff’s many wonderful parks, experiencing the natural world in the middle of urban Wales.

Which is great, except this park is polluted by foul-smelling excrement dog owners have ignored or failed to pick up.

You might say it’s fair game for dogs to use this space as a toilet – it is not a playing field, more a little nature reserve. But this is also a place for children to run freely in and explore.

Dotted around the green, hidden amid the uncut grass, are little and large piles of dog poo left to rot.

We have ended up here having meandered our way through the streets near our home, avoiding other gifts on the pavements left by dogs and their owners as best we can so we don’t end up wheeling faeces into our front room when we return.

Leaving the house a few hours earlier, I notice a spiralled stool in the gap between the gutter and back wheel of my car.

And as we make our way out of the park before it closes, I am forced to take some evasive action as we have to avoid dogs’ mess left in the middle of a path.

This stuff is everywhere. It’s hard to avoid, epecially when you’re pushing round a heavy pram loaded with shopping, a change bag – and a little human being.

Our son is bundled up in wellies and waterproofs when he goes out – with mud and rain in mind, not faeces. But all those extra layers give him some protection if my eyes and nose miss any dollops of poo in his path too.

I’m moved to do something, but I don’t quite know where to start.

I mean, we’ve all seen the zero-tolerance stories as councils declare war on dog poo, the on-the-spot fine propaganda, the signs warning against it.

But what action does anyone ever see?

It harbours disease – the sightthreatening toxocariasis being the most infamous – it smells, it pollutes the public realm. And yet, some dog owners persist in ignoring their pet’s excreta and leaving it for the rest of us to deal with or step in. Before contemplating setting up an anonymous Twitter account, @-ing my local council in on pictures of offending piles of poo, I do some research. Surely action’s being taken. First port of call: dog charities. The press officer at the Dogs Trust is sad when I get in touch.

“Sorry your email’s not about a cheerier topic,” she replies.

The truth for dog-lovers is that fouling colours a perception of the animals and their owners. It embeds negative stereotypes, and for people like me who aren’t natural dog people, sways us towards an anti-dog stance.

“Responsible dog ownership means always picking up after your dog,” says the Kennel Club’s website, before admitting: “Owners who do not meet their responsibilities only contribute to growing anti-dog sentiment and give dog owners a bad reputation within their local communities.”

The Dogs Trust has a zero tolerance message too.

“As you can imagine, this is a topic that Dogs Trust feels strongly about and urges owners to pick up after their dog as a sign of responsible dog ownership as well as out of consideration for non-dog owners,” says the spokeswoman.

“For the last few years we have run a campaign called The Big Scoop in partnership with Keep Britain Tidy, last year we focused on a softer tack, looking at urging dog owners to make the ultimate declaration of love to their dogs by pledging to pick up after them.”

So that’s the softly, softly approach. What about councils? Well, Cardiff didn’t respond to my request for information on their policy. But the council’s website states that “enforcement officers carry out daily patrols across the city” – I’ve yet to see them in the hot spots near my home. Culprits face £80 on-the-spot fines. And that’s about it. It’s certainly not stopping dog poo from being smeared across pavements in the streets I walk along. Other councils are trying a much more aggressive way of dealing with the issue. My native Rhondda Cynon Taf is a leader in the field, last year introducing “new, harder-hitting rules targeted at irresponsible dog owners”. Extra enforcement officers have been employed, a campaign with its own social media hashtag (#SortItOut) is ongoing, new rules have been brought in banning dogs from playing fields and playgrounds. And dog owners in the county borough “must carry a suitable means to pick up mess while out walking their dogs”.

A spokesman told me: “The new rules have now been successfully introduced and the council issues monthly updates on social media about the number of fines issued to irresponsible dog owners who continue to ignore the new rules.

“The council also gives daily updates about where officers have been patrolling each day on social media – and residents can also tell us where the hot-spots in the county borough are so we can patrol those areas in the future.”

Other councils, Caerphilly and Monmouthshire for example, have been more proactive in recent years – using social media as a tool to shame inconsiderate owners.

What can we do – responsible dog owners and people fed up of dogs’ mess?

If you see someone’s dog fouling public land and you don’t fancy confronting them, then you can let your council know (Cardiff council can be alerted online here: cardiff.gov.uk/ ENG/resident/Rubbish-and-recycling/waste-education-and-enforcement/dog-fouling).

Keep lobbying your local council and ward members about the problem.

Take to Twitter to shame authorities into action. Shame the dog owners. Keep your eyes peeled for rogue turds. Above all, remain vigilant.

For as long as people own dogs there’ll be poo in places there shouldn’t be and faeces-filled plastic bags dangling off branches when owners can’t be bothered to put that poo in a bin.