Is this failing to clear up after a dog?

[tigwig]

Whilst I was walking on the path taking my daughter to school today. A man was also in front with his puppy. The dog pooed on the path and without meaning to sound so disgusting it was quite sloppy and to make it worse he allowed his older daughter to clear it up. She did so but not very well so there was still the remnants on the pavement and this would have been enough to soil someones shoes. Now to be realistic without carrying a bucket of water to rinse of the path there was not really alot else he could have done to clean it completely but it just got me thinking if he could get fined for it as there was enough left to walk into.

[bednobs]

unlikely. you can buy poo freezing spray so you can pick up sloppy poos though i doubt many people carry it round with them!

[KARL]

As your question, and the concern it gives rise to, suggests, the fundamental problem is that keeping animals of any kind within urban and other built up areas is incompatible with serious hygiene requirements. Those who accept the lack of hygiene will remain unconcerned while those who don't will be unhappy. Those who are sufficiently unhappy and have the option will move to somewhere that has better hygiene. The point is that opinions/attitudes differ and it can cause friction. I was on a bus once where a small group of people brought on board two dogs, one of which proceeded to urinate on the floor. The people concerned apparently found this incident amusing because they laughed. From then until I left the bus, passengers entering and leaving had to "wade" through urine. I asked the bus company what their policy was and they said animals are allowed on board but not on the seats - there is no plan to change this policy. I have no hesitation in stating that I would like animals banned from buses and would be happy to see them, and other animals than fish, banned from all built up areas. There are examples of such rules in other countries and I am quite certain neither animals nor humans suffer as a result - unlike the creatures locked up on the nth floor of some apartment block and the people who have been blinded by toxocara canis, or other suffered other health problems contracted via animals. Meanwhile dogs and cats in particular remain a politically sensitive subject which the authorities are wary of tackling, in spite of dogs maiming and killing people every year. I understand that fines are an option but that, at least here in our area, they are rarely levied and probably even more rarely, if ever, collected.

[LoftyLottie]

OMG Why not spray disinfectant everywhere and ban birds from flying in built up areas. And don't forget insecticide. What a dreadful way to live. In fact why not ban humans they carry loads of diseases. Live in a plastic bubble perhaps!!

[237SJ]

Karl - there is someone around our area poisoning cats. It`s not you is it?

[ummmm]

What harm to cats do?

[carmalee]

am with LL on this one Karl - this overly sanitised environment we are constantly subjected to is the a major reason no one has any immunity nowadays. Think the people who took woofie on bus should have made an effort to mop up somehow and certainly not treated it as a joke but imho your views are too extreme.

[chrissa1]

Crikey, I'm with you Loftie. How on earth did the human race manage to survive all these years without all the PC rules. It surprises me daily how I ever got through my childhood without the 99.9% antiseptic sprays etc etc etc etc.

[LoftyLottie]

I think humans should be banned from public transport too. Just think what you catch from humans. Far more serious illnesses and far more abundant than anything you might catch from animals.

[KARL]

...I should perhaps have made it clear that I am thinking in terms of deliberate cohabitation of animals and humans. To me such a ban is a good way to proceed, but I accept that others are happy in their mess and that is their prerogative, so long as it does not impinge on others. The proposition about smoking being OK so long as ALL the smoke is inhaled and the smoker NEVER exhales comes to mind. Some people object to being asked to wash properly before entering a swimming pool, others think it an acceptable minimum requirement. The former think of the latter as cranks, the latter are puzzled as to why washing is so objectionable. As for which parasites cats carry, they are similar to those carried by dogs but unlike dogs cats frequently stroll along kitchen surfaces. I have my preferences, others have theirs, and we steer accordingly. The tone and fervour of reactions implyinging hygiene is some sort of aberration and that a preference for it is a disorder of some kind reminds me of the knee-jerk demonstrated by some Americans any time it is suggested that a ban on guns in homes meght be worth considering.

[KARL]

...might, not meght...

[ummmm]

I don't know anyone who doesn't wash their kitchen surfaces...

[KARL]

Neither do I, but those who have cats do not wash them (or the dining table either) every time immediately before handling and putting onto those surfaces anything relating to food (including utensils and anything which will be in contact with food) - but the cat was almost certainly somewhere there since last they were washed. That only affects the people themselves and is their prerogative, unless they offer something to eat or drink to someone from outside the household. The cat's droppings and urine outside its home are something else, as is the public health bill for dealing with any illnesses arising within the household. I merely offered an opinion, without wishing to enter into a debate - I am only too well aware that this is an emotive subject for those who keep animals but do not like the full implications mentioned. I do not feel the same urge to defend my position and I think I have now explained it sufficiently.

[carmalee]

well I deliberately choose to cohabitate with a pet - it/they enrich my life enormously - I do not thrust my animal on anyone not happy to be around pets neither do I shy away from taking him/her out in public - live and let live I say and if anyone disagrees they are more than happy to step outside my circle. I have never found owning an animal precludes me in any way from living what most people call a normal life. I have no desire to live in a hermetically sealed, perfectly sanitised environment devoid animals.. However, I don't say you shouldn't if that is your choice - what I am saying though is that I think your views are in the minority.

[craft1948]

I've tried that (very expensive) poo freezing spray.....it's rubbish.

[LoftyLottie]

KARL. I think you have a problem. Sorry. Our immune systems are proved to be getting weaker because of the obsession we have with hygiene these days. I have never suffered an illness caused by lack of hygiene, except perhaps for one attack of food poisoning after a holiday abroad. I am 63 years old.

How can you compare keeping guns at home to keeping pets. How damn ridiculous.

You must go through life really worried. Do you vet the homes of people you visit before entering. Do you ever leave your home or are you frightened.

Dont forget to wash your hands every 60 seconds will you!!

[LoftyLottie]

Just pick the poo up in your hands Craft and don't bother washing them before you prepare your dinner on the floor!!

[barb1314]

Lottie you are so funny.And totally correct! I cannot imagine life without my Lottie lab and all the other dogs I walk to make my living,disgusting,unhygienic creatures that they are.

[Sqad]

Lofty.......you need me to put my arms around you and "hug you"

There is no reputable evidence to indicate that our immune system is getting weaker (whatever that means) and certainly Ringworm.Hookworm and Ringworm can be caught from dogs and cats to humans and there is no "natural immunity" from these 3 conditions.

I have a certain sympathy for the position that Karl takes.

[LoftyLottie]

Sqad I know what can be caught from dogs and cats and birds etc. full well. I never But we catch many more things from humans. And there is plenty of research saying that immunity is being compromised because of our obsession with hygiene.

I am not suggesting we don't bother with any hygienic practices at all. I bathe at least once every six months and I do wash my hands on the odd occasion.

http://www.essortment...ibacterialcl_rluu.htm

http://www.ncbi.nlm.n.../articles/PMC2631814/

etc. etc.

[LoftyLottie]

I think Karl is way over the top! No sympathy with his point of view at all.

How are all the cats Sqad!! ;o)

Hi Barb. xxxxx :o)

It is also known that keeping pets can be very therapeutic. More and more care homes are now allowing pets. The well being our pets bring to us far, far outweighs the fact that they may be a risk to our health.

I have never had ring worm or hookworm and certainly am never likely to have distemper, kennel cough or cat flu.