From Felicia J

Wednesday, 29 January 2014

We have noticed when out on our regular family walk, from the end of Palace House Road through the wood up towards Woodtop and on to Mytholmroyd, that some person(s) is/are piling bag after multi coloured bag of dog poo under the rocks on the right hand side of the road.

There is so much there (at least a carrier bag full) that bags are falling out into the road and getting squashed by cars. It's not going to biodegrade there is it, why can't people clear up and take away their animals waste? Disgusting.

From Anne W

Thursday, 30 January 2014

Like Felicia, I've also noticed the ever increasing piles of bags of dog poo under overhanging rocks along Wood Top Road. I spotted it when I took a wander up there a few weeks back and it's since got a lot lot worse.

I really don't understand how someone can think this is acceptable. Does whoever is doing this really think the mountain of bags is going to magically vanish? I feel sorry for the dogs for having such disgusting owners.

From Julie C

Saturday, 1 February 2014

The bag dumpers are everywhere. Suggest you ring the dog wardens at Calderdale, they actually hide out and catch people and fine them. They like it if you can give them details, ie describe when it happens, what dog and owner look like, but they won't ignore you if you don't know all that stuff. Round here they put a bin near on the roadside near the end of the track up to the woods, which helped a bit.

From C. Harrison

Sunday, 2 February 2014

This afternoon on Wood Top Road I saw a woman not clear up after her dog - leaving her dog's mess just where people have to stand when cars pass. Wood Top Road has become really bad for this recently - the people who don't properly clear up after their dogs just don't have consideration or common decency. Tomorrow, I'll be contacting the Council and giving them a full description of what I saw today - I hope the dog wardens can do something about this.

From Anne H

Monday, 3 February 2014

I know not everyone walks around with a plastic bag in their pocket - except most dog walkers - but I find an effective approach is to say 'oh, don't you have a bag, here use this one' and then the owner will pick it up themselves. Also I think it gives them the feeling that they are being watch and can't just behave how they want to. If they scowl at you and refuse to pick it up, then they deserve to be reported to the dog warden and fined.

As for poo bags in hedges, I'm pretty sure in most cases this is dog owners forgetting to pick up their bags on the way home. Most dogs will do it early on in the walk and most owners don't want to carry it around with them for half an hour or so. If you decide to come back a different route it's quite easy to forget to pick up the bag. This doesn't excuse the behaviour though. As responsible dog owners we should make sure we go back and collect it.

From Felicia J

Monday, 3 February 2014

I think the rapid proliferation of dog poo on Wood Top lane is far too much to be caused simply by people forgetting to collect it on their way back. They are treating the rocks as disposal bins, but the muck is at waist height as one goes past so easily seen, every time a new coloured baggy offering. I hope the wardens catch the culprits.

From Graham Barker

Tuesday, 4 February 2014

I too used to think it was owners forgetting to pick up on the way back, but now feel it's more deliberate. Yesterday I walked past a neatly-tied black disposal bag sitting right in the middle of the track up to Lower Lee. Over 24 hours later it was still there. I brought it back myself, and close by noticed three similar bags squashed into the mud. No proof it was the same owner but some coincidence.

As a former dog owner I'm baffled by the mentality of people who buy disposal bags, fill and tie them, then abandon them. You don't need much science to know that bagged excrement will hang around a lot longer and be much more toxic than if it's left to degrade naturally. It really is a vile practice.

The root of the problem is probably a few repeat offenders. Most dogs need emptying at least three times a day, so one idiot owner can quickly generate a lot of bags. The only solution may be to use surveillance to catch one or two and hit them with enormous fines that attract publicity. It's a shame simple common sense isn't enough.

From Andy M

Tuesday, 4 February 2014

The 'plastic bag' problem may well be a devolving of responsibility on the part of the dog-owner i.e. 'I've bagged it and done my bit, now it's someone else's responsibility to take away my good work!'

Speaking as a dog owner it amazes me that people do this and also that I haven't seen anyone in the act. I could then ask them why!

From Paul D

Tuesday, 4 February 2014

So just what do these responsible dog owners who collect these two to three times daily poo parcels do with them? Flush the material down the loo to be treated as human waste or does it go in the bin thence to landfill or incineration?

I'm just thinking how many tons of unecessary and untreated excrement gets into the ecosystem via pet owners. Isn't owning one of these dog pets, chopping up bits of other animals to feed it, then picking up its poo not all a little bit odd?

The environmental impact of all these often, emotionally stunted dog owners is huge. Don't get a dog, get a life is my solution. Don't fine this owner, find them some therapy that will reduce their need to rely on these mostly useless mutts. Weird if you ask me.

From Rob Blake

Wednesday, 5 February 2014

Our dog died last November and I still miss her terribly. She had been my constant companion through good times and bad, and also the perfect excuse for me to get out on hills as much as possilbe.

Paul D - You display a complete lack of empathy for those of us who love our dogs.

It's true that the people who drop their poo bags give all dog owners a bad name. The year before last I took part in the Hebden Royd big spring clean and removed a totally disgusting 134 full and discarded dog poo bags from the bushes around the cycle track between Brearley and Mytholmroyd.

I think the reason people do this is simple - they want to be seen to pick up the poo when people are around, but don't want to have to dispose of it properly so they chuck it as soon as nobody is looking.

And of course dog poo and poo bags are only part of the problem we have with litter in the valley. It's heartbreaking to watch the local herons stuggling to get to their fishing spots which are completely blocked by discarded plastic Lucozade and coke bottles.

From Anne W

Wednesday, 5 February 2014

Some notices have gone up on Wood Top Road which is great and perhaps will help remind irresponsible dog walkers who do not clear up after their dogs, that their disgusting behaviour is noticed. I guess asking people to act responsibly has only limited impact when they already know that they should and just don"t care, and there are more problems today. I will be contacting environmental health and maybe the irresponsible dogs owners will care about being caught.

I can only agree that the pile of bags left on Wood Top Road cannot be someone forgetting to collect them after a walk - at least it would take a
staggeringly convenient repetitive memory lapse to forget each time - while remembering to throw them on to the increasing heap in the first place. I can't begin to understand how they think they can keep doing this.

From Julie C

Thursday, 6 February 2014

I do think the point about dog muck being useless waste is a good one. If anybody watched Kevin McCloud on TV he made methane from it. In fact, all of it from humans and cows too would make useful power.

I disagree however about the value of dogs. For one thing it is humankind as a species who have had the most enormous impact on the planet.

Dogs' responsibility for this can really only be held against them for having helped domesticate humans. How, you say, well encouraging pack behaviour and hanging about round fires in the evening talking and getting ideas, instead of going to bed when it got dark. This was probably down to dogs who like nothing better than a campfire, company and a good bone to chew.

From Felicia J

Wednesday, 26 February 2014

I've noticed that the large heap of various bagged dog mess under the rock on Wood Top road has all been cleared away sometime recently, presumably by the council. If so full marks to Calderdale Council. Thank you very much, what an improvement to the road.

From Tara B

Monday, 10 March 2014

In the last three weeks I have trodden in dog mess in and around Hebden Bridge 3 times. It's disgusting and I have had to throw away 3 pairs of excellent shoes. Why won't dog owners clean up after their hounds? I am sure most do but this situation is really getting me down. I have complained to the Council who have said they have to catch the owners of the dogs in the act as it were. Anyone fancy joining me in a campaign to stop this vile practice once and for all? We could lobby the local council and MP and see justice done for once!