As both a dog walker and volunteer managing an online community picture and video journal for a local hill in Gloucestershire, one of my pet peeves is other dog owners picking up and bagging the poo from their pets, but then attaching the tied bags to a fence, tree branch or similar, or just tossing them on the ground and leaving them behind.
THERE IS NO POO BAG FAIRY!
We probably aren’t grateful enough that local council employees already empty dog bins that are often filled to overflowing.
But for some of us to then believe that our responsibility to clear up after our own pets in a public place or in the countryside stops as soon as it’s bagged and tied is as irresponsible as it is rude and inconsiderate to others and to the area.
Animals do pick these bags up and farmers have lost livestock that have eaten discarded poo bags in fields where they can reach and pick them up.
As local authorities are only likely to pick up full poo bags as part of a litter pick on the rare occasion they have the resources to make these happen, it is left to community spirited walkers to pick these bags up and walk them to the nearest bin – as the owners should have done in the first place.
Because of the way that social media works, pictures are usually the best way to make a point.
Now that we have AI image generators, I thought I would give this one a try and see what happens.
I don’t know about you, but I think picturing the myth of the poo bag fairy turned out rather well!!!
Adam Tugwell 