I Think I Might Know Why, Folks…

Only three dog owners have been fined since tough new fouling laws were introduced last year – even though 20 officers are empowered to enforce them.

There’s 20 dog wardens? That's a bit excessive, isn't it?

Well, no. Not quite:

Staffordshire Moorlands District Council employs one designated dog warden, but traffic wardens and senior officers can also issue on-the-spot fines.

Ah. I see. They can. It’s just they are unlikely to…

Residents say that if the law was enforced, the message would soon get across.

Councillor Ron Locker said: "The introduction of these new measures has been at a cost and people do not mind if they can see the benefit. But that has not been the case and the problem has got worse.

"It would only take a couple more fines to enforce the message the council is intent on coming down on offenders."

Do they plan to do that? Reader, they clearly do not:

The district council has sent letters to Oxhey First School, Biddulph, and Bishop Rawle Primary School, Cheadle, asking parents to report the issues.

What a waste of paper…

Meanwhile, this continues to be an issue in other places too:

I would like to sympathise with the person whose dog was attacked by another dog that was not on a lead (Penarth Times letters, January 26).

I have written to the Penarth Times over the last three years highlighting this problem in the area.

Very rarely do you see a dog warden in these parts and I have found out that dog wardens do not have any authority to approach or fine these people (why not?).

I also know that a by-law was passed many years ago and signs were put up on park gates saying dogs must be kept on a lead and heavy fines would be implemented.
But the council didn’t employ anyone to enforce this and so you now have the situation of people letting their dogs off a lead as soon as they enter a park.

Well, it seems even when they do employ someone, that someone would rather do…something else, anything else…

Come on council, pull your finger out and let’s start doing something about this ongoing problem.

Let’s see this dog warden in the Penarth area a lot more than we have done in the past few years, and not just showing his face when somebody complains in the Penarth Times letter section.

Very angry Penarthian Via e-mail

Well, wonder no more at the reticence of the dog wardens of Great Britain, Mr Angry Penarthian:

A woman who challenged a dog owner for allowing a pit-bull terrier to foul in public without picking up the mess got a smack in the face.

Lovely! And we aren’t talking about young, fit Stabby McChav here, either:

The shocking attack happened in Shand Street, Wishaw, around 10.15am on Sunday.

Spotting that the dog had fouled on grass at a public area, the 50-year-old woman walked over to the female owner of the pit-bull who was strolling away with her pet.

The woman with the dog grabbed the other lady by the hair and punched her on the side of the face while another person shouted: “This is a Sunday, leave her alone.”

Because pitbulls are allowed to s**t where they want in England on a Sunday, clearly!! It’s one of those old, never-repealed laws, like the one about being able to arrow a Welshman from the church tower in Chester…

Police say the attacker was aged between 55 and 60 years old, around 5ft 5in tall, and of a heavy build. She had shoulder-length grey hair and was wearing a blue jacket with red or pink gloves. The pit-bull was white.

Clearly an anti-social bitch who should be muzzled. As for the dog…