Dear Sir

DOG FOULING

I may be only eleven but I feel very strongly that dog fouling should not be tolerated.  As a responsible dog owner myself I think it is now time to voice my concerns.  In recent months it has become evident that many irresponsible dog owners are allowing their pets to foul the footpaths and play areas around Hadley Wood.  I am certain that careless dog owners would not allow their pets to foul the path leading to their front doors however they are happy to let them defecate in public areas.

There are several issues I would like to raise.  Toxocara conis is a worm that affects many dogs.  The worm is present in dog’s excrement and can infect children who come into contact with it.  A microscopic round worm larvae enters your blood stream, this can develop into Toxocariosis which can result in permanent eye damage.

From a practical point of view it is very unpleasant to remove excrement from your shoes or clothing if you have stood or fallen into it whilst playing or walking to school.  From a visual perspective we live in a very beautiful neighbourhood, therefore, I can’t understand why irresponsible dog owners allow their pets to litter the environment.
I would therefore like to suggest an action plan to help all dog owners.  I would like to ask the Hadley Wood Association to erect more signs advising pet owners to clean up after their animals especially in areas close to the school.  In addition, it would be very helpful if more bins were available to disposing of dog waste.  It would be good if these bins had a dog dispenser attached.  Finally, I would like all residents of Hadley Wood to encourage dog owners to act in a more responsible manner.

Yours sincerely

Luke Atkinson Coyle  Yr6 Hadley Wood School

 Dear Sir I would like to inform you that there have been lots of dogs fouling in Hadley Wood.  This is detrimental to the neighbourhood and I am devastated to say that some owners do not pick up their dog mess up. This is a very important situation and can lead to people stepping in it. It can contain many parasites and bacteria which can be very harmful to humans and can cause sickness, diarrhoea and diseases.  If young children accidentally step in it, then touch their shoes followed by going into their eyes, this then can cause blindness.  In addition it is very germy and smells disgusting.

I feel that dog owners that can not take responsibility for this should get a fine and possibly have their dogs taken away.  We can’t and won’t tolerate this selfish behaviour.

Regards

Nicky Falekkos (Yr 6)

Dear Neighbours

Lately I have noticed that there is an issue of leaving dog waste around in our area.  I go to Hadley Wood School; it is surrounded by a large field and a forest.  It is a brilliant place for cross country practise and nature field trips.  But it is also open to the public and is a very popular place for dog walking.  This results in dog “business” being left around.

The particular area of concern is the path leading from the car park to our back school gate.  The path runs up next to the field and is used regularly by adults and children.  A few weeks ago a dog owner with an obvious lack of consideration left their dog’s foul in the centre of this path.  It was left there for some time wearing away under many children’s feet.  There are many issues with it being left there:  reception children with younger siblings may step in or even touch the dog excrement.  This can cause many problems for example; if the child touched his or her eyes there is a risk that this could cause blindness.  Furthermore the dog foul could carry diseases.  Lastly, it affects the appearance and reputation of the area.

This is also an issue in the large field next to the path.  It is not pleasant, during a cross country run to step into dog excrement.  It is bad to leave the dog faeces there anyway especially as children that play there could spread the dog foul from their shoes to the play area where other children can step in or touch it and spread it to other places. 

Although I do not excuse the dog owners there is a major issue that needs to be looked at to convince dog walkers to clean after their dogs.  In the area there is a lack of dog bins.  Outside my school there is only one dog bin at the bottom of the hill which appears full to the brim. As I myself would not like to walk around with bags of dog mess it is becoming clear to me why some dog owners do not clean up their dog’s faeces.  However I believe that if more dog bins were installed and the ones we do have were cleared out I think more dog owners would have less of an excuse not to scoop up the poop!

Yours sincerely  Laura Pearl

Dear Editor

I am writing to inform you about the current state of the pathways leading to Hadley Wood Primary School which are covered in litter but my greatest concern is the dog fouling. 

Dog fouling is everywhere in Hadley Wood and I think the reason is because there are not enough dog bins in the area. When we do get there the dog bin is overflowing with bags which will bring rodents such as rats and mice which could be carrying harmful diseases which could affect you later in life.

My final point is that dog excrement is very toxic and babies could put their hands in it and wipe it all over their face and if it gets into their eyes it could potentially blind that person.

So I urge you to please stop this dog fouling in my local area.

Yours sincerely

Andie Stanley yr6

Dear Editor

I am particularly concerned about the issue of dog fouling.  There are many dangers for younger children but also for children my age (10-11).

Here are some reasons why dog fouling is bad. When people step in it, it carries disease to other places and spreads rapidly. Another reason is that if the bacteria gets in an open cut it could cause infections.  Not forgetting the horrible stink. 

In my opinion there are not enough dog bins to put the litter inside so they just leave it because they do not want to hold it in a plastic bag.

Ways to help – If you see this happening report it to the local community services.  They will try to trace the owner of the dog to give them a small fine.  I think it is worth a try!

The local people do not want to live in an filthy area and we can change this.

I hope you will be able to voice my concerns.

Yours sincerely

Marissa Miltiadous Yr 6

Dear Readers

Dog fouling is a big issue in this area and puts shame to irresponsible owners.

The neighbours think that dog mess is very dangerous in many ways such as ruining your shoes and severe accidents.  Dog foul is the most offensive type of litter in our community and world.  Children (young and old) think that when they see dog foul it puts them off walking and going out to local places. 

Dog foul is very lethal and can carry harmful diseases such as rabies especially if the dog is ill.   If a toddler trips over the mess they can fall flat on their face and break a bone or fall in the mess.  Dog foul can cause life long blindness and smells awful.  Also you can have a serious slip or accident.

When you’re walking along the street it is appalling to see a pile of dog mess rotting away attracting ants in the middle of your path.  Its smell and appearance is awful.  All careless dog owners should not have the right to own a dog if they can’t take responsibility. 

In late 2009, the government reinforced a law saying that dog owners will be fined a sum of £500 if they do not pick up their dog foul. 

In conclusion dog foul puts shame to our community so pick it up afterwards.

Regards

Hena Malik

Dear Neighbours

I am writing to persuade all dog owners that under no circumstances should your dogs foul our paths! There have been numerous numbers of complaints about all the dog fouling in the Hadley Wood area.  Dog fouling is a serious offence.  It you trip and fall in dog’s faeces you can go blind and also catch many diseases that can harm and spread.  However even if you step in dog foul it could be hazardous and unsanitary.  Imagine stepping in dog excrement how nauseating would that be and if you didn’t detect that you had poo on your shoe it could spread in your own house.

I believe that many dog owners do not pick up after their dogs and when they do there is nowhere to get rid of it.  I say there should be more dog bins.

Yours sincerely

Dominic Ball

 Dear Reader

I am very concerned about dog fouling.  There are a number of reasons why. First it smells. This is bad because people may not want to go to an area with a bad smell.

Also someone could slip on it and break bones or fall head first into it and have to go to hospital.  One rugby player slipped and fell head first into it.  This happened two years and he is still in hospital.

The reason why he is in hospital is because dog waste carries lots of bacteria that are deadly. It can kill!

These are the reasons why I am concerned about dog waste.  I hope dog owners will be more careful and put the dog excrement in the bin, I hope that the government can provide more bins too.

Yours faithfully

Theodore Nye Matthew

 Dear Neighbours

We all agree they’re man’s best friend

But there is just one thing to which you must attend

Dispose of your dog’s poo

It is one of the kindest things you can do

 Dog dirt can hurt

Pick up your dog mess

As it is an act of kindness

 Don’t cause people illness pick up your dog business

Be kind and stop people going blind

Pick up your dogs germs and stop people getting worms

 Your growling dog’s fouling

Left on the pavement

Can lead to bereavement

 Scoop the poop

And drop the plop in the pin

Otherwise you’ve committed a sin

By Katherine McEnery. yr 6

Dear Neighbours

I am writing to you regarding the latest issue in Hadley Wood “Dog Fouling”.

The first thing that I would say is that can you please pick up after your dog.  These are the situations that can be caused if you don’t pick up after your dog.

 Little children can slip into it

If you put it into your eyes it can cause blindness

It may have diseases like rabies

If on your body it can cause a burn or rash

Once your dog has fouled on the floor you take a bag turn it inside out and pick up the foul and put it in the nearest dog bin.

This is crucial, not only is it helping our environment but it is also stopping children from getting infectious diseases.

 So as for that, please clean up after your dog and remember you are making our environment a better place by doing your part and the only reason it will be better is because your were there to help.

By Sharon

 Dog Fouling Poem

 Please look where

Your dog’s poo

Because we don’t

Like it on our shoes

Pick it up and

Put it in the loo

So we don’t get

It on our shoes

 If we get it on

Our face we will

Not be able to play

Chase because we

Would not be able

To see and I would not

Like that to be me

Yours  Sam Piper

 Dear Neighbours

Hello, my name is Anisha Benjamin Sampath.  I am 10 years of age and I am a pupil of Hadley Wood School and I am writing to you to request your help in getting rid of dog fouling in the area.

Dog fouling is highly unhygienic as at carries certain diseases which can make you blind and many other dangers.  Dogs mess is unsightly and foul smelling.  My solution is to create a new law that if any dog owners do not clean up their dog’s mess they should be punished in ways such as paying a fine.

I am also concerned about dog bins.  In the school area there is only one bin which is constantly overflowing with dog’s mess, in fact, the bin is so full dog owners are putting bags of dogs mess around the bin.  I would like to inform the council and request them to put more bins and to empty them regularly so dog owners can use them.

I am hoping dog owners will consider picking up their dog’s mess and finding a bin to put it in.   I am only trying to clean up Hadley Wood so please help me.  Remember, no mess, no danger, no diseases and no smell.

Thank you.  Anisha Benjamin Sampath

Sir

I think it is wrong dog’s fouling on the path

If no-one deals with it, it will last

If the poo gets neglected

People will get infected

We do not know what is inside there

So owners should take more care

 If children touch dog poo and their eyes they can become blind

So please pick up your dog poo and be kind

This affects adult’s children and babies

So be careful, if could leave rabies

Its bad behaviour

So do us all a favour

 PICK UP YOUR DOG POO!!

By Massimo Doom

 Dear Editor 

I would like to inform you about the amount of dog waste there is in Hadley Wood and why we must proceed to put a halt to this

Firstly I would like to notify dog waste makes the streets and roads filthy and not very welcoming or pleasant, due to the smell and sight.

Furthermore there have been a countless number of mischances lately and are quite drastic.  Additionally infants are not aware of how savage dog litter really is and may touch or interfere with it, which gives a high chance of obtaining diseases and illnesses.

Moving onto my final points insects get attracted to dog waste and spread even more bacteria through out it.  Also to entice the public to be more responsible towards this I propose there to be more dog litter bins for there has been a lot of complaints that there are plainly not enough.

Yours sincerely

Rose

Dear Editor

PICK IT UP

Dog fouling is a serious crime,

Does it really hurt to pick it up from time to time?

It’s your little pup, so pick it up;

You make all the little children go bucket yuck!

 So back to the point,

Don’t disappoint

You make me get to boiling point.

When they do it on the street,

It’s not even discrete-

It’s just there

The owners gaze down and stare.

But it’s my biggest nightmare

Don’t worry I’m not unaware

 Feel guilty,

Feel ashamed after all the dogs are not to blame.

They re only animals after all,

It only takes minutes to clear it all,

Do you want a child who cannot see?

So take a poop bag on your walking spree

 A dog foul only takes a moment,

But blindness is for life!!!

Dominic Elliot- Kingston

 Dear Editor of the Hadley Wood News

I am writing to you today about the concern of dogs doing their business in parks and fields and would like us all to do something about it.

My first point is that people are stepping and touching dog mess and get ill from the disease from the excrement. It can be very dangerous and can make you very sick. Also people just leave their dog to do this and don’t do anything about it. All they have to do is bring a plastic bag with them and pick it up with the bag and put it in the dog bin.  Unfortunately it is usually overflowing and there is no one there to empty them. 

I hope you can do something about this and we could hopefully be dog business free.

From Sam Morris

Year 6

 Dear Readers,

I am Lily Hilton, an 11 year old pupil at Hadley Wood primary school, and I am here to proclaim why I’m strongly against dog fouling left on the ground in a public place.

With the British dog population estimated at around 6.8 million, the 900 tonnes of excrement they produce per day is very dangerous.   It  can contain many diseases but one of the common ones is called toxocara canis. This is a roundworm found in  dog excrement which can easily be picked up by children and cause many things, such as : stomach aches, diarrhoea, vomiting and some cause blindness.

The main reason I protest against dog fouling is for health and safety, but it is also a real nuisance to get on your shoe or clothes.

I believe owners should pick up there dog’s excrement because of various reasons but here is a poem to express my feelings:

 A neighbourhood of mess

Will ruin the reputation

Not only that but dog fouling

Is an important rule and regulation

 We all want to make

The amount of injuries to be less

So this is why I say to owners

Please pick up your dog’s mess!

By Lily Hilton

 Dear Editor

Here is a poem about dogs called, ‘The day I wiped my tear away’

 Here is Rex

Rex the dog

Taking his daily walk

He starts to get restless

And looks for the park

And does his business with not a talk

 But his owner is foul

And he won’t pick it up

No matter how much Rex begs

They both know it is wrong

But the man’s heart is stone

And he pushes the dog with his legs

 Here comes Dan

Stepping in the hazard

Being young he starts to cry

By now he’s sobbing

And wiping his shoe with his hand

Then it happened his hand wiped his eye

 Just to let you know I was Dan

The day I wiped my eye was the day I lost my sight

I don’t want children to be like me

You know it’s wrong

You’re not a foul owner

Do what you know is right!

By Oliver Ballantyne

 Dear Editor

There is a high level of concern locally about the infinite amount of dog fouling in the Hadley Wood area, in particular around the Hadley Wood Tennis Club and Hadley Wood School.  Babies and toddlers may touch the dog’s waste in curiosity and get it in a cut or in their eyes or swallow it.  The side effects could be rashes blindness or even death.  It is extremely foul smelling and unpleasant to step in,

Dog walkers should clean up after their dogs but the council should also get involved as the dog bins are usually full.  Fouling is just as important on the fields as it is on the pavements because of the schools cross country run.  If you are a dog walker please clean up after your dog. Even the smallest change makes a difference.

George Treschi

Dear Neighbours

I would like to mention that there has been some dog fouling in the area of Hadley Wood.  If your dog has made a mess then please may you pick it up and if you don’t clean it up this is what will happen:-

It can cause blindness

It has a terrible smell

Dirties our streets

it can cause infection

it can ruin your shoes

We think that there should be more bins around the area to make it more convenient to dispose of the pet’s mess.

The residents of Hadley Wood are much happier if their pet owning neighbours took a little more care!

With many thanks

Amelia Constanti

Year 6

Dear Editor

I am writing to inform you of the foul, disgusting and irresponsible behaviour in our local community.  Some people these days are not bothering to pick up their animals foul in the fields or parks. Even on our local streets where many people tread.  They all think “It’s not going to hurt if only one person leaves the foul behind, it won’t make a difference”  What if everyone thought like this?   The roads would be flooded with repulsive smells releasing into the air and filling up our lungs, but also dirty germs which could cause terrible diseases.

Which leads me onto my second point, young children nowadays are touching all kinds of dirty objects and then putting their fingers into their mouths, if we do not stop dog fouling then it could be one of the objects children are putting into their mouths.  It is scientifically proven that if a child was to touch the dog mess and was then to rub their eyes it could cause blindness, it could also cause infections to any type of cuts not concealed safely.

In conclusion the public are not just going to abruptly change their ways. It will be a slow and gradual process, so we also need to furthermore encourage and help them to become better citizens.  The first way I came up with was having more dog bins.  I myself would not like to carry a bag of foul smelling dog mess around on my walk searching for the next near by dog bin and I know for a fact that a lot of other people would find it easier to simply abandon their dog mess on the ground.

I believe if everyone was more aware of dog fouling then together, as a community, we can stop it.

Yours sincerely

Serene Dadomo

Year 6

 Dear Editor

I am writing this letter to you about dog fouling in the Hadley wood community.

Dog fouling is unacceptable in your own community why would you want to leave your dogs business in your own community. Normally dog poo is in the park near the tennis court and that’s where there are always children playing. Say if a child trips accidentally and he got dog poo on his hands. If he then wipes his eyes it could make him blind which is a problem.

Dog poo has loads of other hazards if you touch it. You should have bags to pick the mess up and they should put up more free dog bins.

Don’t forget,  Pick up.  After your dog

Ahmed Warda                                                                          

 Dear Editor

The pavement is a disgrace

With dog mess all over the place

Spotty dog comes running by

Cocked his leg then said ‘bye bye!

 School boy proud of his shoes

Didn’t see the dogs dos

When the dogs stops and squats

People pretend they don’t see

 The next time you exercise your pup

Remember, take a bag and pick it up

Guy Fordham

 Dear Reader

I write this letter with passion to complain about the rising level of dog foul in the Hadley Wood area.  I am sure you are aware dog foul can be extremely dangerous if not dealt with carefully.

Dog waste contains lots of harmful bacteria which can cause lots of illnesses to humans.  It can blind humans potentially as well as giving them other illnesses.  This happens easily if a child steps in foul and then rubs their face.  They can easily be infected.

The section of Hadley Wood I am specifically talking about is the path leading to the tennis courts and the school.  This is where many young children play and roll around so extra precaution is necessary.

Although there are two dog bins on the path they are constantly overflowing so they are not particularly pleasant to put waste into.  I would ask the council to empty the bins more frequently which may have an effect on the dog waste left on the path.

On a final note I would be overjoyed if you dog owners would always pick up and throw away your dog’s waste.  I hope you know see why it is so dangerous and as a pupil, I have strong emotions about this area.

Thank you

Sam Hoar

Dear Editor

THE WARNING OF DOG FOULING

On November 27^th 2009 a business man went for a walk in the park with his dog.  The dog was a golden Labrador with floppy ears.  The dog saw a pole and ran over to it.  It went to the toilet next to the pole on the pathway.  After it had finished the dog and man walked off as if nothing had happened.

The next day, there was a spring race taking part at the same park where the man and dog went for a walk.  The race had just taken place and a little girl had tripped over a rock, landing in the dog’s mess from the day before.  The girl started crying, it was her new shirt she had got earlier which was now a mess.  It stank so much and she had to get changed. She was crying as she was leaving the race.

A few days later, she had a big eye problem and an infected cut knee with a fever.  Her mum rushed her to hospital.  The doctor said “Thank goodness you came just in time.  Your daughter needs antibiotics and if you had gone on for longer, she could have had a disease from the dog mess and gone blind!”

Luckily, this girl was ok, but worse could happen to someone else.  Not only hazardous, but it’s disgusting.  If you’re going to have a dog, make sure you scoop up its mess and put it in a dog bin.  If you don’t do this, someone can report you and you can get fined! There is no excuse for being LAZY.

Dominic Taylor

Dear Readers

I’m here to talk about the disgusting fouling along the paths and health risks it may cause in the world. 

My first point is rabies, children now step in the fouling could catch rabies or if they rub their eyes with the fouling if it is still on their hands they could go blind.

My next point is hygiene – little children could spread germs to other people – making more of a risk.  As well it doesn’t look very nice or smell very nice either.

There are a few changes the government could make eg more dog bins or unload them weekly because if you don’t want dog fouling you need places to put the fouling.

Thank you.  Next time your dog does it’s business please pick it up and put it in a doggy bin.

By Georgina Harvey

Dear Editor

The Problem of Dog Fouling in Hadley Wood

I am writing to inform all proud dog owners that some of your dogs “brown material”more commonly known as dog excrement is being left behind.

By not being bothered to pick up your dog’s leftovers this can result in someone becoming seriously ill and maybe even permanently harmed.  For instance, blindness, rabies, stomach bugs. The list goes on.

When the local children come to school they may have stepped in some and the bacteria could spread in the school.  It isn’t great to have half of a key stage ill – absent because of illness from this irresponsibility.

So next time just try to take a few bags to keep your pooch’s toxic waste in the dog bin.

By Alexander Kolman

Dear Dog Owners of Hadley Wood,

It has come to my attention while I have been walking to school that the number of dogs fouling our pavements has increased making my journey to school hazardous and unpleasant.

Not only is dog fouling disgusting but it’s also dangerous for adults and children in the surrounding area if they come into contact with it.  If a child or adult stepped into it and touched it without realising they may then touch their eye which may cause blindness.  So if you think that not picking up your dogs mess won’t harm anyone then you are wrong because this could damage somebody’s eyesight.  Dog foul could also carry diseases such as rabies which can spread and may give anyone that touches it the disease.

I have a dog that I walk around Hadley ~Wood therefore I do understand why it can be a problem sometimes.  There is only one dog bin in Hadley Wood which is situated at the bottom of Hadley Wood Primary school pathway.  Although that is a problem it still doesn’t give anyone the right to leave dog’s mess on the ground.  If your dog does his or her business and you don’t have anything to clean it up with it would be a good idea to mark it and then get a bag from somewhere and then pick it up.  Whatever you decide to do don’t cover it up as that would make it even more dangerous for everyone because they will not try and avoid it.

I hope to see the number of dog’s fouling on the pavement decrease in Hadley Wood.

Yours truly

Charlie Hopwood

Dear Editor

I would like to address the point of dog fouling.

My first point is it pollutes the air and it smells vile. It is very dangerous to young children especially babies.

My only concern is that they do not provide enough dog bins.  I hope you can persuade the council to think about putting more dog bins around the area.

I think that if people cannot clean up after their dogs then they really shouldn’t be dog owners. 

It would be really help the environment. I think it is not fair that people can get really ill by dog fouling.

Regards  Jaylan

Dear Neighbours

Public, if you have a dog please listen.  Everyday you and your dog go out for a nice walk and the next thing you know your dog is fouling in places where people can easily tread on such as public footpaths playing fields and alleyways.

The next point is diseases.  Think of how many diseases there could be.  The faeces could be contaminated with roundworm, giardia, comphyllobacter, leptospira, tapeworm and cryptosporidium.  So imagine falling flat on a pile of dog faeces. You could end up in hospital.

When you do not pick up after your dogs the faeces gets washed away in streams, rivers and even the groundwater so that will affect our water quality.  Did you know, just dogs faeces alone is estimated to cause 20-30 % of water pollution.

So for all those reasons always bring plenty of plastic bags on your walk to clean up after your dog, because as a community, we all want to protect our local water quality protect people from disease and show respect for our community.

Council remember to do your part too, which is to provide dog bins and empty dog bins otherwise the bins overflow and people end up walking home with smelly bags in their hands.

So come on community – clean up after your dogs !

Ben Cohen

 Dear Editor

I am writing to you about the dog fouling in Hadley Wood area.  The amount of dog fouling on the pavements of Hadley Wood has increased in recent weeks and is a disgrace.

I have seen previous articles in the Hadley Wood News mentioning this problem, but it still continuing.  What can we do to raise the awareness of this issue and get something done?

I have been running on the pavements around Hadley Wood and continue to see so much dog fouling on our pavements.  This is both unpleasant to look at as well as being a health hazard.  We could write a letter to the council to provide more dog bins for dog mess because there are not enough dog litter bins in the areas where people walk their dogs.

As well as this, we should ask the council if they could get someone to empty the dog litter bins regularly so that dog mess is not left on the floors beside the bins because they are too full to be used further.

The mess on walkways and in play areas could be a real danger of causing infection and illness to younger children when they tread on it or come into contact with the dog mess.  If the child has any exposed cuts and falls into mess they could get a really bad infection. There have even been some cases where infections to children caused by contact with dog mess have resulted in blindness or limbs needed to be amputated.

Neighbours have had dog mess on their drive-ways or in their gardens.  This causes annoyance for these non-dog owning residents and creates resentment towards dog –owners.  

I hope this letter will be published in the Hadley Wood News so that both dog owners and the council are made more aware of this issue and do something about it.  As a message to all dog owners, if your dog fouls the pavements, you should really remove it and put it in a waste bin.

Thank you

Yours sincerely

Christie Leigh Duffell

Dear Reader

Dog mess isn’t very nice on your shoe and if you touch it and then touch your face you can go blind. 

Dog mess can also have disease such as rabies.

If a child from Hadley Wood School steps in it they may tread it all over the floor of the school or in their parent’s car.

So please clean up after your dog and put the dog mess in the bin.

Written by Ollie Mirraco

Dear Reader

If you own a dog then you should read this:

Please make sure you clean up after your dog because it causes diseases and contains bacteria which can go on your shoes. When you walk it will spread across the floor and will make everywhere smell foul. Also the disease and bacteria will spread everywhere which will make people ill.  Also if you touch dog mess and touch your eyes you could go blind.  If you touch cuts and put our hand in your mouth you could get badly infected.  However, if it has rabies in and you touch cuts you could get rabies.

The community should have more dog bins and should empty them on a regular basis.