May I please take a few column inches of your letters page to congratulate and offer my many thanks to all those considerate dog owners I meet.
The overwhelming number of dog owners are responsible persons and take care that their animals do not spoil things for others. I refer of course to dog-fouling. Most owners clean up any mess their animals deposit and remove it to the bins provided.
Whilst recently walking my dog on the White Horse I was appalled at the vast quantity of dog faeces simply left on the footpath to the horse – and this in one of Wiltshire’s prime tourist sites, visited by many thousands of tourists every year. It beggars belief to think what their impressions are when they leave our beautiful county. Please pick it up after your dog.
However total castigation and condemnation must be passed on to two totally irresponsible owners. Within a few hundred yards of bins provided for their use, as the photos show, two owners were just too lazy to make the effort. In one case the collected faeces had simply been thrown in the hedge to despoil the view and pleasure of other walkers. The package is likely to stay for some time and yet the nearest bin was only a few metres away.
The most despicable site however was reserved for the memorable seat to Elizabeth Water, a frequent hill visitor who died in 1969. A bouquet in her memory had been placed on the seat for Christmas and yet some thoughtless dog owner, having collected their dog’s droppings, then deposited them amongst the memorable flowers. Just how thoughtless and inconsiderate one can get I cannot imagine.
Please, you few inconsiderate dog owners: think of other visitors and walk your dogs elsewhere.
Councillor Horace Prickett
Southwick Division
Wiltshire Council