Dog Dirt Dodging-an Olympic Sport?

If dog dirt dodging was an Olympic sport Barrovians would be pretty good at it! Judging by the amount of dog dirt on Barrows Streets lately we will have enough practise before the games even begin!

I don't know if anyone has noticed this but there seems to be a really big problem with the amount of dog dirt on our streets lately, left by irresponsible and lazy dog owners and despite warnings of £1000 penalties and promises by the Borough Council, it all seems to be falling on deaf ears!

Dog owners need to clean up their act and the council needs to take a tougher stance on those that fail to clean up after their dogs! My girlfriend has a dog and she always cleans up after its done its business and like me she is absolutely astounded at people who fail to pick up after their dogs, often right in front of us! That is part of the problem if one person sees another failing to pick up after their dog and sees that there is no action taken against them then it is going to make them follow suit.

Oh and by the way picking up after your dog only to then throw it in the nearest tree doesn't count!

We need tougher penalties. It is a health hazard and owners should realise that if they fail to clean up after their dogs that they will be fined and they will end up in court!

Is it me or is the problem getting worse? Greengate Street, Rawlinson St, School Street, parts of the town centre, Barrow Island, the Ormsgill Estate in fact, pretty much every part of town is blighted by this awful and disgusting mess and what is the council doing about it? Absolutely nothing! Well they have, but only spray painting yellow any dog dirt they found recently in a mere publicity campaign on Barrow Island. What is that going to achieve exactly? Everywhere you look there are also warning signs stating that failure to clean up will result in a maximum penalty of £1000. I saw one of those same signs in Stileman Walk, Barrow and right below it were mounds and mounds of dog dirt spread across the pavement! I mean what kind of message is this sending out? It sends a message that the council promises to get tough but when it comes down to it, it is just a load of rubbish! People are well aware that unless one of those plastic PCSO's come along that you have no chance of getting caught and receiving a fine!

I am fed up of having to dodge dog muck everywhere! It is an absolute disgrace and does not send out a good message to people who come to visit the town. They should rename it Dog Dirt Central instead of Central Barrow. The council needs to wake up and smell the sh.. I mean coffee and realise the scale of the problem we face and get tough on irresponsible dog owners!

In a recent status update by the Evening Mail on Facebook, many people complained about the scale of the problem. Children having to dodge dog muck outside the school gates, people having tread in it and bringing it home. Its absolutely disgusting! All of the correspondents want the council to do more to prevent dog fouling and to start fining those that fail to clean up their act. So why despite the promises of a crackdown by the council is the problem getting worse? People say that it is lazy and irresponsible owners, that there are not enough bins and not enough is being done to deter dog fouling.

In South Lakeland the district council is planning to introduce Dog Control Orders in parts of Ulverston and in all council owned parks and sports areas, the last authority in South Cumbria to introduce such an order. Dog owners will, they say, face a penalty of £1000  if they fail to clean up after their dogs.

Despite the same promises of a similar crackdown in Barrow and the councils recent attempts to highlight the problem it would seem that the people of Barrow will be in the running to win an Olympic Gold in Dog Dirt Dodging unless the council comes down tough on irresponsible dog owners and does more to prevent the problem in the first place!

What do you think? Is there are problem with Dog Fouling? Are the council doing enough to solve the issue of dog fouling? What more can be done to deter dog fouling? Please add your comments below.....