A couple say they are fed up of a persistent trail of dog poo appearing on their front garden. Grace Gregory and her husband say they are constantly forced to look out their front window onto ‘disgusting’ piles of dog mess left by owners.
Ms Gregory said the dogs are drawn to a corner of their garden partially hidden by a fence, using part of the lawn as a toilet, while owners stand idle and refuse to clean it up. The 65-year-old said the problem has been going on for a few months, BiminghamLive has reported.
Ms Gregory, from Solihull, said: “I am so annoyed to think what people are letting their dogs do. I’ll be blowed if I'm picking somebody else’s dog mess up.”
Ms Gregory said she had contacted Solihull Council but found its response underwhelming. She was told someone comes around "every now and then" to pick it up, provided the mess is on council-owned roads and pavements.
“We were told ‘if you see them, just ask them’, but that means we have to sit in our window 24/7 for them to come around. It doesn’t make sense.”
The couple has a German Shepherd of their own and said they always clear up the mess. Ms Gregory added she had a degree of sympathy for the dogs fouling on her lawn and said the blame lies with their owners.
“You’ve seen the size of it in some of those pictures - there has to be more than one dog because there are different sizes. The bigger the size, the bigger the dog.
“No disrespect to the poor dog but we make sure we clean our dog’s mess up daily and dispose of it properly, so why should we do someone else’s? Even the neighbours have started saying ‘Grace look at the mess in your garden.’”
Ms Gregory and her husband live opposite Jubilee Gardens Care Home, with the muck spreading onto its lawn too. She has been given permission to put up a fence at her home in Wyegate Close in Smith’s Wood, but is having trouble finding the funds.
She said: “We don’t have the money for the fence at the moment as we are both disabled and both on benefits. I’ve got permission for the fence but nobody’s helping me financially - something must be done!”
Solihull Council said they will only remove dog foul from council-owned roads and pavements, and that any dog foul on private land is the responsibility of the land owner.
A spokesperson for Optivo Housing Association said: "Dog fouling is a widespread issue and we remind all our residents that they must clear up after their pets. It is unfortunate that not all dog owners are as responsible as Ms Gregory.
"We understand this issue must be distressing for Ms Gregory and we have agreed to install ‘No Dog Fouling’ signs along the existing fence as a deterrent.
"As written in our tenancy agreement, it is the residents’ responsibility to maintain their own gardens. As some of the fouling is occurring in Ms Gregory’s garden, we would not clear it in this instance. We understand the council is clearing fouling occurring on the surrounding public land.
"We have given Ms Gregory permission to install her own 3ft high boundary fence to prevent dogs entering her garden. As stated in the tenancy agreement, we would not fund this fence but we have told Ms Gregory we are happy to look at the quotes she has received and advise her on whether costs are reasonable."
