Island Echo always welcome letters to the editor, which may of course not reflect the views of the publication and its staff.
Letter to the editor – 29th March 2021
Freshwater is a lovely community-minded area, however, we have a huge problem of dog fouling here, which is not being addressed by the council.
The pavements are disgusting and I have now, after finding yet another huge pile on the pavement outside my home this morning, messaged the council and put photos on social media, not a good advertisement for visitors to Freshwater.
Article continues below this advertisement I am constantly almost daily picking up mess from the pavement outside my home and from my garden. Mostly people are responsible for their dogs, but obviously there are some who have no regard for other people.
I have tried putting cayenne pepper and also spraying vinegar but nothing works. To say I have had enough is an understatement.
I have ordered a camera and will be spraying my garden with something stronger than vinegar. I am a dog owner and animal lover, I don’t blame the animals, it’s some owners who clearly have no respect for other people.
I would be interested to see what other people think about this.
J Hart
Freshwater
It’s not just Freshwater, it’s all the island and the UK
At least here in Ryde the council have been doing their job, a persistent fouler was caught last week and fined £100 with the threat of further £100 fines or court where the maximum fine can be £1000, it is not just the disgusting mess on pavements but walkers in the countryside who allow their animals to foul farmland which can endanger the lives of livestock.
Love to know how that person got caught Reg if you have details. I’ve never seen an enforcement officer in the lane where I live which is well know for fouling.
Apparently several residents complained to the council about the fouling outside their properties by the same dog and at the same time every day, the council sent an officer who caught him and cctv footage also was used.
Brilliant news! I hadn’t realised this had happened last week.
Completely agree! As a dog Owner I’m also completely fed up of having to walk around all of the dog poo on the pavements / next to dog bins / on grass verges – basically everywhere. Also fed up with picking up other dog owners bags of poo that they leave on the floor. Near where I live in freshwater there is a particularly bad stretch of pavement that must have a repeat offender living on it. Frustrating as they give all dog owners a bad reputation.
I think we all agree it’s disgusting. I am sick of black plastic dog poo bags being thrown into hedgerows and hung on tree branches around the area, especially leading down to the beaches. Unfortunately there appears to be no enforcement, and so these selfish dog owners see no deterrent. Why you would pick up after your pooch and then discard the bag is difficult to understand. It would be better if the poo was left where it was to naturally breakdown, though I am definitely not advocating that.
There is no enforcement or deterrent at the end of the day. Most dog fouling is done in the dark either early in the morning or late at night, where the owner has no intention of picking it up and can go unchallenged.
There are also some brazen owners which come out in the day where they know there aren’t many people. Saw someone on Brading Downs let their beast out of the car for a crap then drove off quick, wasn’t able to get the number plate. Like to think these people will get reported at some point.
Just imagine one dog doing it in the same area for 365 days a year without being picked up. It mounts up.
Bit OTT, innit ?
When I grew up in the 70’s and early 80’s there was dog s**t every where.
Never done me no harm.
Some people even said it was lucky.
How come you don’t see white dog turds anymore ?
And what about all of them Cows sh**ing in the fields, that can’t be no good for the nature, probably worser, if you ask me.
I remember my poor Mum having to scrape the shoes of me and 3 siblings because of inconsiderate dog owners allowing their dogs foul on the recreation ground near our home in the 70s. I have a dog and always pick up after him no matter where, including beach and the downs. There are some nasty diseases you can pick up from the faeces. If you can’t be bothered to clean up after your dog don’t have one
What ever happened to DOG WARDENS.. ??
Dog wardens don’t generate revenue. In a climate of cuts, IWC rightly prioritises.
But this problem requires a culture change among dog-owners and those of us who have to suffer their anti-social habits. Offenders must be publicly challenged, photographed, put up on social media, reported to Police (good luck with that one) and maybe the Council.
But, on a practical level, how do you enforce something like this? Do we really want the Council to employ teams of people whose only job it is to follow dog walkers around on the off-chance that they might not pick up their dog’s poo? I can’t see many people being happy with having to pay for that.
What’s the answer? I have no idea.
Agreed with all of you so far. If you challenge these idiots you will get mostly the same reply, ‘so what I’ve been doing it for years’ or get told where to go.
There seems to be a dog walking hot spot at alum bay right on that dangerous junction of the old and new road. Plenty of cars scattered about most times of the day dread to think of the mess they leave for the unwary walkers, let alone the residents.
It raises the question, given our ridiculous amount of council tax , why havnt we got good dog warden coverage that actually hands out fines!
If you’re a dog owner and dog lover why are you putting out cayenne pepper?! As you say it’s not the dogs fault but they suffer with that!! There must be other ways.
Contact 821000 with location, problem & description (owner & dog). The Environment Officers are great and will action it, often with fines. They need your help in finding hotspots and identifying problems. They are out & about across the Island and work hard to make our environment more enjoyable.
What annoys me are the dog owners that are walking along phone in hand or just talking to a friend while their dog is somewhere lagging behind not on a lead. How do they know if their dog has fouled?
Most dog owners do the right thing but the lazy ones annoy everyone and need to be caught and fined. Report anything and make life better for everyone
Unfortunately, the Council are not addressing this problem anywhere on the island. This problem has increased over the years as more people get dogs. It is not the dogs fault, it’s their irresponsible, don’t care owners, I’m not picking it up owners.
We li
ve in Freshwater and have certainly noticed the upsurge in dog poo in the village. Seem to be a lot of dogs about and I wonder if the ratio of dog owners on the Island is increasing and how it compares to the mainland? Interesting.
The irresponsible dog owners that don’t pick up pale into insignificance to the dog owners that let their dogs run off lead growling and barking at walkers.
Twice this week I have been growled and barked at by off lead dogs and both times I was convinced I was going to be bitten. One incident the dog “mouthed” my hand twice before it ran off and the second time was a large and very angry, barking dog who ran past me growling and turned on my wife. She was not bitten but was left shaking and tearful. Both times the owners seemed to think it was perfectly acceptable.
I’m afraid I have now purchased “dog anti bite spray” …
Sorry to sound a bit rude.
But you do come across as a bit of a drama queen at best, and a coward at worse.