In This Issue
Pet store owner takes action to highlight dog mess problem
Ex-Solus sales director takes on new role at Royal Canin
Pet shop hopes TV exposure will help to make it profitable
Pooch & Mutt wins £10,000 worth of products from Microsoft
AmPet to showcase top products from America and Australia at PATS
PetQuip fixes it for overseas buyers to meet UK suppliers
Bucktons to launch new Superior Plus pigeon range to trade at PATS Sandown
Lily's Kitchen unveils Senior recipe range
Exhibitor stand space at AQUA 2015 nearly ‘sold out’
Verm-X packaging rebrand for global market
Albinati gets green light for to fly pets into UK
Johnston & Jeff revamps bird food packaging
Terrifying knife raid on Preston pet shop
Police hunt Pets at Home thief
Envirosmart Products strengthens management team
Birds died of shock during pet shop robbery
The Pet Charity aims to represent pet owners through Scotland's exotic pet reviw
Pet shop owner found guilty of three animal welfare offences
Bearded Dragon to celebrate St David’s Day at Squire’s Garden Centre
BETA Business Awards celebrate industry winners
Award-winning stands on show at BETA International
Date set for illegal Chelmsford pet shop trial
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Pet store owner takes action to highlight dog mess problem

Cambridgeshire pet shop owner Piers Smart decided to take drastic action after becoming increasing annoyed with dog owners failing to clean up their animals' mess...

Piers (pictured right), who owns award-winning Scampers in Soham, has started to clean it up himself.

"I find it so infuriating. We walk our dogs around a local park most days and the amount of people not cleaning up after their dogs is horrendous," said Piers.

"People seem to think it's okay to simply leave their dog's poo on the path or on the grass verge – it's not.

"One thing that also astonishes me is people who go to the effort of picking up the poo but then throw the non-biodegradable bag with the mess inside it into the nearest bit of undergrowth. Again, it's simply not on."

Piers and wife Michelle have recently started to collect some of the bags of mess they find lying in the undergrowth to then put in the bins provided at the park by the district council.

Piers said: "We collected around 40 bags in an hour, which I find just unbelievable. Dog owners who don't clean up after their pets or who throw the poo bags into bushes are giving all us dog owners a bad name.

"It's also why more and more councils are banning dogs from open spaces in the UK, which isn't right. Dogs should be part of the community and it is down to us, as their owners, to be responsible.

"To me, it is just common sense. If they poo, pick it up and carry your poo bag with pride to the nearest bin."



Meanwhile, a Hemel Hempstead pet owner who was fed up with dog mess being left on pavements has been offering free poo bags to tackle the problem.

Lesley Marshall (above), from Butts End, Hemel Hempstead, said she used to find dog mess outside her house near Spring Fields on a daily basis.

She also put up posters addressed to dogs, asking them to remind owners to clear up after their animals.

Mrs Marshall said the problem "seemed to have disappeared" since she took the action at the end of last year.

"Hopefully people are getting the message," she said. "You do see people reading [the sign] and having a little chuckle as they go by."

Mrs Marshall, a dog owner herself, said she was "topping up" the supply of free bags by "about four" a week.

Lesley Marshall was fed up with the amount of dog mess near Spring Fields

"It's not too many, but they are being used, and that's good," she told BBC Three Counties Radio.

She won praise for her actions from Facebook users, who posted messages saying "Good on her."

Another user wrote: "Why do people think it's ok to leave their dogs poop on the pavement and grass! It's part of the responsibility of having a dog."

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