Limerick aka Dog **** Central

MyOpinion

I jog through Limerick City atleast 4-5 times a week.
In recent weeks i've noticed the increase in dog crap on our footh paths.
Is it on the owner to clean this crap off our streets... or is it up to the city council.
I understand if a dogs gotta go, a dogs gotta go! BUT CLEAN IT UP PEOPLE!!!!
This has become a bit of a joke.
O Connell Ave is the worst!! Infact its all pretty bad!
Has anyone else noticed it?? .. And doesnt it give our city a ****ter image than it already has. Or are we just supposed to wait for the rain to wash it all away?

xsiborg

trust me, you're not the only one-

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=76705984

Icky Thump

it is an offense to not clean up after your dog. on the spot fines are dished out for offenders as far as i know. if you see an owner not cleaning up after their dog either say it to them or report them. you and most of the world most likely have a camera phone. take a sneaky pic of them if you can and bring it to the gardai.

as far as i know it falls under the littering category

bazz26

I'd doubt these laws or fines are imposed otherwise the problem would not be so common. Typical half arsed Irish approach, introduce a law and then don't bother enforcing it. Just lip service as usual.

Icky Thump

to be fair its pretty hard to enforce a law like that

how many people do you see get fined for dropping paper on the street or spitting out gum on the street??

problem is if we see dog crap on the path we cant prove who's dog it was. the only way of people being caught is by catching them in action which means pics or if they are in the city center the cctv's.

the problem in this country is too many people will just ignore their responsibilities. your right that its disgusting and these lazy dog owners should be punished

it gives all dog owners a bad name which is unfair on people who actually do pick up after their dogs

source

bazz26 wrote: »

I'd doubt these laws or fines are imposed otherwise the problem would not be so common. Typical half arsed Irish approach, introduce a law and then don't bother enforcing it. Just lip service as usual.

The problem with enforcing this kind of law is unless you see the person allowing their dog to crap then walk away, you can't say who is responsible, and so the law becomes unenforcable.

bonnieprince

Any reason why dog owners deem it ok to let there dogs foul footpaths etc. I use a well known path each day and the amount of dogs without leads and fouling the footpath is astounding! This is a danger to kids especially.
Any have any thoughts on the matter?

source

bonnieprince wrote: »

Any reason why dog owners deem it ok to let there dogs foul footpaths etc. I use a well known path each day and the amount of dogs without leads and fouling the footpath is astounding! This is a danger to kids especially.
Any have any thoughts on the matter?

I have a blog post on this, but dot want to link it here, unless mods think its okay.

RonMexico

Well when so many Irish people think that it is perfectly acceptable to just gob all over the street when it suits them, spit their chewing where they like and drop fag butts and litter everywhere I would say that getting them to clean up dog shit is next to impossible.

There is no pride in keeping the place clean and tidy in this country unless there is a prize involved it seems.

Insect Overlord

source wrote: »

I have a blog post on this, but dot want to link it here, unless mods think its okay.

Fire away! Maybe quote some of the important points here, and link to the whole thing too.

source

Insect Overlord wrote: »

source wrote: »

I have a blog post on this, but dot want to link it here, unless mods think its okay.

Fire away! Maybe quote some of the important points here, and link to the whole thing too.

I'm on the phone so can only paste the whole thing, it's not long.....promise:

You can imagine my amazement, as a dog owner, and a conscientious one at that, to count 24 different piles of dog foul on the South Circular Road, between Fennessey's pub and the Redemptorist church last Thursday 26/01/12. While 24 sounds like a large number it becomes even larger due to the fact that the 24 I counted were on one side of the road.

Yes I know that doesn't mean there will be 24 on the opposite side, but if it's on one side then there is no possible way it will not be on the other. I really don't get it. Why do people in this day and age, with all of the information available still not clean up after their dogs. A quick search on Google and you find all the information you need on dog foul and why it needs to be cleaned up.

Dog foul can and often does contain a little bug called Toxocariasis. Toxocariasis is an infection of the roundworm toxocara canis. The eggs of the parasite can be found in soil or sand contaminated with faeces and if swallowed, result in infection that lasts between six and 24 months. Symptoms include eye disorders, vague ache, dizziness, nausea, asthma and epileptic fits. Often the eggs are ingested when passed to the mouth by the hands, but this can also occur through contact with dogs or other inanimate objects including the wheels of toys and the soles of shoes. Infected soil samples are often found in play areas and as a result, Toxocariasis most commonly affects children between 18 months and five years.

Now we have to wonder, with this information so easily available why do people still not clean up after their dogs? A roll of dog foul bags can be picked up from a pet shop for as little as €1.99 and a roll of regular plastic bags from a supermarket for considerably less.

The main issue as I see it, is laziness. People seem to believe it is not their responsibility. Obviously this is not true. It is the responsibility of every dog owner to ensure they properly care for their dog. This includes cleaning up after them.

Sure the city council could do a little more, in the way of providing bins, but the ultimate responsibility lies with the dog owner and walker. Yes it is unpleasant to walk around in search of a bin with a bag of your dog's foul. But it is even more unpleasant for the person who gets sick because of your laziness.

What can those who don't own a dog do about this? Well it's simple really, don't stand for the dog fouling in you area. Be vocal about this. Limerick City Council have leaflets and posters available from the environment department, which are free of charge to take and distribute. Why should we, I'm sure I'll hear you say, Well it's simple. We can live with dog foul and run the risk of disease, or we can begin changing our own and others opinions on the matter. The only way we can beat this issue is to educate people on the issues relating to dog foul. Yes there are those who will not listen and for them there is the possibility of a €150 fine by calling 1 800 216 816 and reporting them.

http://sourceie.wordpress.com

bonnieprince

Does the City/County Council have many Dog Wardens?
Could someone from the council blitz the problem areas and educate people.

Mc Love

They hardly have enough traffic wardens nevermind dog wardens!

CiaranMT

Noticed this myself out cycling today on the Corbally Link Road and up the Dublin Road.. Much messier than usual.

constantg

Mc Love wrote: »

They hardly have enough traffic wardens nevermind dog wardens!

Perhaps we should collect the Dog Sh*te and post it to Limerick City Council to highlight the issue?

martyc5674

RonMexico wrote: »

Well when so many Irish people think that it is perfectly acceptable to just gob all over the street when it suits them, spit their chewing where they like and drop fag butts and litter everywhere I would say that getting them to clean up dog shit is next to impossible.

There is no pride in keeping the place clean and tidy in this country unless there is a prize involved it seems.

Spot on Ron.
People don't give a toss about community/environment in this country. Too many people seem to think they are entitled to everything for nothing... This is what we have bred.

I often push a Childs buggy around Limerick and regularly have to take the wheels of it not to be bringing **** into the house..great fun with a sleeping child.
Marty.

Mc Love

I think most people wont approach someone else if they dont like the look of them. Best thing is to grab a pic and report it to the relevant authority

the_blackstuff

I myself have a dog and always clean up after him but I’m afraid I regularly see people not doing the same thing. It is just bad manners. People take their dogs out of their houses in the full knowledge of what the dog is going to do. Guess how many people Limerick CC have fined for dog fouling. Answer Limerick CC has never issued a fine to anybody. I remember seeing the article linked below in the leader last year. Why would anybody pick up crap with a strike rate like that.

http://www.limerickleader.ie/news/local/not_a_single_fine_issued_for_dog_fouling_in_county_limerick_1_3059457

timesnewroman

I would consider myself a responsible dog owner and always clean up after him (except for the odd occasion that I forget to bring a bag or two with me)

A contributory factor to this problem, I feel, is the lack of bins (especially in the suburbs). For instance, I live on the Mill Road. If I walk my dog into town, the first bin I encounter is at Arthurs Quay. Crazy, especially if you have a bag of sh1t for company. What’s amusing is that, while I don’t encounter a single bin on that trek, I pass two signs telling me what the maximum penalty for not cleaning up after a dog is.:rolleyes:

Birdie086

timesnewroman wrote: »

I would consider myself a responsible dog owner and always clean up after him (except for the odd occasion that I forget to bring a bag or two with me)

A contributory factor to this problem, I feel, is the lack of bins (especially in the suburbs). For instance, I live on the Mill Road. If I walk my dog into town, the first bin I encounter is at Arthurs Quay. Crazy, especially if you have a bag of sh1t for company. What’s amusing is that, while I don’t encounter a single bin on that trek, I pass two signs telling me what the maximum penalty for not cleaning up after a dog is.:rolleyes:

The lack of bins in a big problem, being a smoker I always look for a bin to dump the end in, I hate throwing it on the street, I was on William St the other day, which has been 'renovated' and had to walk from one end to the other find a bin.

Ninthtym

Oh my god yes!
I cannot believe more people don't seem to care or be outraged at this. I've been living back here now for 6 months and IT IS EVERYWHERE and seems it be getting worse and worse. Pretty much most of the city centre is covered. It's so embarrassing. Why is it that other cities/towns have some pride and we let it happen. Wish there was something we could do. I'm afraid to take a photo incase I get hit or my camera or phone gets snatched by a big angry dog owner. I've had a dog pretty much all my life and I know that that is what I signed up for, including carrying a bag of it around for a few hours if necessary. That is the deal I made when I got my dog.

constantg

was in galway city yesterday and walked from bus station to uni and back.....don't think i actually encountered dog **** anywhere....

how odd that one place can get it right and limerick cannot

the_blackstuff

The point about the bins is a good one. We have 2 routes we walk our dog. 1 has 1 bin and that's about 2 miles and the other is about 3 miles and it has 2 bins and this is in castletroy. Lack of bins aside i really think its just down to people not giving a toss about their community and neighbours. Its a wonder your wonderful mayor isn't getting something done!

Mc Love

Ye guys must be looking out for the stuff - i never come across it

RonMexico

Hehe, McLove is going to be walking the streets of Limerick looking for dog**** now hehehe

JupiterKid

Is it really any surprise that dog excrement fouls the pavements and parks of Limerick when the city has so many other symptoms of social problems like high rates of violent crime, criminality in general, poverty and deprivation and a city centre that is half dead due to atrocious and wantonly reckless planning policies on the part of the County Council?

I suspect that many of the dog owners who allow their mutts to soil the streets of Linerick are of an element that most people would be too frightened to report to the authorities. There is a palpable climate of fear and inertia in this city.

europa11

Was pleasantly surprised while walking the dog this morning when approached by a Council official in uniform who handed me a flyer regarding dog fouling. Fortunately had my dog-crap bags with me so spared a lecture.

Told me there is going to be a serious crackdown on offenders and that they will be issuing on the spot (...sorry!) fines.

Seems there has been a lot of comment about this and something at last is being done. Take a bow OP, maybe the Boardsies can claim some credit here.

€150 fine btw.

Now if only they go after the unlit cyclists next ....could clear the National Debt.

martyc5674

Anyone walking a dog in a public place should be carrying bags and scoop, and should present them if asked so by a warden... If not they should be fined.
That IMO would help the situation somewhat.
Marty.

goodasgold

yes its very bad down by mary st and nicholas street, same dog poo there and not cleaned for weeks.I think that the town hall needs to get somebody to go around and clean it up and hose the streets, there should be an on the spot fine its absolutely disgusting, my mum has a shopping trolley and it is so hard to avoid all the dog mess ,

bonnieprince

Mc Love wrote: »

Ye guys must be looking out for the stuff - i never come across it

try walking from Corbally to UL, count about 20-30 lumps of the stuff each day!

martyc5674

bonnieprince wrote: »

Mc Love wrote: »

Ye guys must be looking out for the stuff - i never come across it

try walking from Corbally to UL, count about 20-30 lumps of the stuff each day!

And that's only what's left after the foot traffic has picked up most of it and brought it home.

bonnieprince

went for a walk yesterday down the Mill Road, it was astonishing the amount of sh*t everywhere, needless to say I thought I avoided all the dog crap but the wheels of the buggy were covered in the stuff. Makes me sick.

constantg

out of curiousity, has the council ever commented on the problem?

bonnieprince

In my case I have been in contact recently with the City & County Council and only the County Council have ever got back to me. The City Council seem to be burying their head in the sand about the issue.

CiaranMT

bonnieprince wrote: »

went for a walk yesterday down the Mill Road, it was astonishing the amount of sh*t everywhere, needless to say I thought I avoided all the dog crap but the wheels of the buggy were covered in the stuff. Makes me sick.

Mill Road is gas for that actually.

liammur

The council have enough guys sitting around doing nothing, they could easily send out a crew and clean the streets.

zulutango

The city council do not want to know about the issue. I have heard quite a few reports from various meetings that have taken place in city hall. The Director of Services with responsibility for this is Caroline Curley. She simply doesn't want to spend money on this. Perhaps she doesn't see it as a problem.

For what it's worth, I think the City Council needs to be far more pro-active on the issue. They made a big song and dance lately about how they were going to educate dog owners to take more responsibility, but that's a pissing into the wind approach.

There needs to be a proper cleaning regime put in place where streets are regularly hosed down. If we don't do this, the city is going to get a very bad reputation. Educating and imploring dog owner to make more responsibility isn't going to scratch the surface of the problem.

I saw a Japansese tourist on the new boardwalk on Clancy Strand last summer. He was taking photos and then accidently stepped into dog ****. He's not going to have a good impression of the city after that experience.

Think about it. We spend a few million euro doing some excellent upgrade work to Clancy Strand, and then we don't have any effective maintenance regime for it!! It's only a few years old and it's already quite grotty looking because of the lack of maintenance. Are we really going to get tourists coming to Limerick if we maintain it so badly??

liammur

zulutango wrote: »

The city council do not want to know about the issue. I have heard quite a few reports from various meetings that have taken place in city hall. The Director of Services with responsibility for this is Caroline Curley. She simply doesn't want to spend money on this. Perhaps she doesn't see it as a problem.

For what it's worth, I think the City Council needs to be far more pro-active on the issue. They made a big song and dance lately about how they were going to educate dog owners to take more responsibility, but that's a pissing into the wind approach.

There needs to be a proper cleaning regime put in place where streets are regularly hosed down. If we don't do this, the city is going to get a very bad reputation. Educating and imploring dog owner to make more responsibility isn't going to scratch the surface of the problem.

I saw a Japansese tourist on the new boardwalk on Clancy Strand last summer. He was taking photos and then accidently stepped into dog ****. He's not going to have a good impression of the city after that experience.

Think about it. We spend a few million euro doing some excellent upgrade work to Clancy Strand, and then we don't have any effective maintenance regime for it!! It's only a few years old and it's already quite grotty looking because of the lack of maintenance. Are we really going to get tourists coming to Limerick if we maintain it so badly??

We spend thousands digging up holes and delaying traffic, get council guys out scooping.

europa11

Until they start fining people, naming and shaming the irresponsible owners, and facing down owners forcing them to pick up the crap or take out their wallets, then we're running around in circles.

The news that "so-and-so was fined 150 euros" for letting his dog foul the footpath wouldn't be long getting around.

as usual we have all the rules and regulations, but no-one bothers enforcing them.

liammur

europa11 wrote: »

Until they start fining people, naming and shaming the irresponsible owners, and facing down owners forcing them to pick up the crap or take out their wallets, then we're running around in circles.

The news that "so-and-so was fined 150 euros" for letting his dog foul the footpath wouldn't be long getting around.

as usual we have all the rules and regulations, but no-one bothers enforcing them.

A lot of strays around, and some people just leave their dogs wander. A specialised unit should be set up, would create a few jobs too.

bonnieprince

I contacted my local councillors and heard nothing for a few weeks then got a mail from Denis McCarthy (FG) and he advised he will speak with someone in the environment office.

So the update back from City Council was that there is an "information initiative" being run to advise dog owners of the dangers of fouling.
Also it seems that there will be Environment Enforcement Officers patrolling the path from Corbally to UL in the coming weeks.

I will believe it when I see it but fingers crossed some people might get the message.
And now for the same to happen to the rest of the city :rolleyes:

constantg

zulutango wrote: »

They made a big song and dance lately about how they were going to educate dog owners to take more responsibility, but that's a pissing into the wind approach.

Surely you mean ****ting on the footpath approach


Anyone think this Curley woman would appreciate an envelope full of the same dog **** she refuses to clean off the streets?

BobMc

after reading this thread during the past week or so, was out for a run last night and decided thankfully to pay a little more attention to the footpaths, its a bad state already, noticed the Shelbourne road in particular, every 4/5 strides was covered in it, in the end its the owners of the animals that are responsible BUT, the council should be tackling the removal and cleaning of it, then also be more vigilant with regards offenders, + dog owners should be more diligent about cleaning up after their mutts, I'm a dog owner and its my least favourite thing having to pick up after my dog but it must be done

liammur

Saw a woman walking her dog yesterday, she didn't clean it, but in fairness it was a real scutter, diarrhea job.

martyc5674

liammur wrote: »

Saw a woman walking her dog yesterday, she didn't clean it, but in fairness it was a real scutter, diarrhea job.

She should still clean it..dirty bitch shouldn't expect others to clean up cos it was messier than normal

Marty v

Insect Overlord

martyc5674 wrote: »

She should still clean it..dirty bitch shouldn't expect others to clean up cos it was messier than normal

Marty v

And on that classy note we're done here.