An age-old problem seems to have spoiled the Easter weekend for many in Angus.
When a few spare hours combine with the slightest bit of clement weather, thousands plot daytrips to the county’s green or sandy spaces.
These jaunts can be a minefield, however, as the same conditions bring out the worst in a small group of dog owners to which several callers to The Courier can attest.
Forfar resident Georgina Smith (72) said a walk with her niece and dog on Saturday had to take the long way round a section of the Myre.
”It looked like someone’s arranged to have all their dogs meet there to make a mess of the place,” she said. ”It was on the path and on the grass, so we decided to turn on our heels and go into town the long way round.
”I’ve been a dog owner myself and understand sometimes there isn’t a lot you can do to clean up after your dog. But right next to a dog bin? These people must just live in their own filth.
”Whenever I see it, I just think to myself: ‘Are you living amongst that when you go home?”’
George Christie (49) of Stonehaven said a long trail of mess on the promenade took the shine off a family beach day.
”It’s nice to have a cone or an ice lolly with the kids and sit down to enjoy the bit of sun we get while it’s still here,” he said. ”But we were out no longer than 10 minutes and unwrapped our choc ices and the smell of this one patch of ground was enough to put me right off my Cornetto.”
Ray Murray from Montrose was on a day out with his partner at St Cyrus nature reserve and was surprised to see paths ”covered with excrement”.
He said: ”To have come out to such a place of natural beauty, at a time a lot of people regard as a mini-holiday, and come down to earth with a thump because of it, is a shame.
”I don’t get the mindset where someone’s coming out to a park or something, plainly to enjoy the best that mother nature’s got to offer, and not seeing the irony in ruining it. Won’t they be coming back here someday, too?”
The reserve provides free dog bags from a dispenser and Aberdeenshire Council has a large dog bin at the car park, but the problem does not seem to have gone away.
Arbroath woman Glenda Heddie (66) said she is not able to walk down main streets in town without constantly glancing at the ground beneath her feet.
”I have lived here 10 years and have ruined several pairs of nice shoes just trying to get down to the shops,” she said. ”Do I have to wear leather or dark shoes the rest of my days, just because someone else is too lazy to clean up after themselves?”
Angus Council runs a community warden service which attempts to trace those who fail to pick up dog mess, and fixed penalty notices are possible. These have been in the single figures for the past four years, but extremely low when compared to the scale of the dog mess problem in Angus.
Last year the single remaining Angus dog warden’s responsibilities in this area transfer to a team of 12 community wardens.
The dog warden service was responsible for issuing fixed penalty notices for fouling but was reduced to a single member of staff as part of the 2010-11 budget-setting process.
In council surveys, mess frequently overshadows residents’ fears about major issues including drug abuse, vandalism and anti-social youths.
Given a full quota of 12 wardens, four will be deployed in Arbroath, two in Montrose, two in Forfar, two in Brechin and Kirriemuir and two in Carnoustie and Monifieth.
The rotas of the community wardens have been revised to include an early-morning shift to help deal with dog fouling.