Other side of the dog fouling saga

Recently, someone has decided to take the law into their own hands to control who can and cannot use the access to the field/hill in the close.

There has been a spate of incidents including putting broken glass in the access of the opening. This is very dangerous to dogs and children alike, but I feel that it is obviously aimed at dog owners. I personally make use of the Sankey Valley land with my dog and my children. Therefore I can view the problem from both sides. I am finding it increasingly difficult to access this beautiful open space in a safe way.

Oil/creosote has been painted on to the fences so that my children struggle to get through without ruining their clothes, on several occasions oil/creosote has been poured onto the floor of the access so that you cannot get through the opening without getting covered. Maybe a metal stile would solve half of this problem? The opening has also been blocked up only to be unblocked later by people wishing to make use of what is now a dwindling commodity these days - open space.

As for dog owners only walking far enough from their house, to use the dog toilet, sorry...hill. Well, the writer is welcome to challenge the lady with the small, brown mongrel at any time that you see me out with my dog.

I always carry small plastic bags to pick up my dog's dirt. I've even been known to give bags to other owners whose dogs have done more than a quota of dirt than bags allow.

Also, if the writer goes to the vet, they will find that blindness through contamination with dog poo is caused when worm eggs enter a child's eye. Most of the dog people that I speak to regularly worm and vaccinate their dog, as I do myself. You see, we love our dogs.

Tobermory Close is one of the few closes where you don't regularly have to dodge dog dirt. You may however, have to dodge oil on footpaths.

Now, apart from the obvious smell and the germs in dog poo, both of which can be removed, oil and creosote on carpets and soft furnishings will be forever a reminder of your short-cut through Tobermory Close.

Far from the council dragging its feet, I propose that a dog dirt bin is erected outside the complainant's house so that he/she can personally police every inch of poo in Haydock.

H. H. (name and address supplied).

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.