Signs for dog fouling around the country “don’t matter” if the law around it isn’t being enforced, Jonathan Healy has said.

In The Irish Independent, features editor Katie Harrington has written about her frustrations with dog owners ignoring their dog defecating in her local area.

It turns out this issue is not just one for Ms Harrington, as stand-in presenter Jonathan is another person who shares her frustration.

 

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“It's absolutely everywhere,” he said, talking about the story on Newstalk Breakfast.

“There was a story in one of the Sundays yesterday that there was only 37 fines handed out for dog fouling last year.

“Do you know all those signs that are around? There was one particularly weird one that had a child's face with dog poo in its eyes to tell you that there was an extreme risk of a nasty illness from this.

“[These signs] don't matter… if you don't enforce the law then there is no point in having a law.

“As a dog owner who will walk for a mile because there's no bins anymore with a bag of dog poo, until I find a bin, it is offensive when you see others ignore it and they ignore it with impunity.”

Bin for dog poop and bag dispenser. Image: Alamy

Jonathan recalls his favourite text into the show about a tree in Tallaght which has become infamous for people hanging dog poo bags on it.

“During the summer months [the tree] was obviously in full leaf and you couldn't see anything - and then in the winter, akin to a Christmas tree, you were left with all these little bags hanging around, like little decorations,” he said.

“The bottom line is we should be enforcing this law, but ultimately, this is not the dog's behaviour we're criticising.”

A dog with a container for doggy bags on their collar. Picture by: alexei_tm / Alamy Stock Photo

Co-presenter Ciara Kelly agreed with Jonathan, saying she often sees people on their phone while their dog is defecating – ignoring what their dog is doing.

“I often see people, and I think it's performative, that they're on their phones really obviously, when the dog is doing a crap, basically,” she said.

“I think to myself, you're deliberately on your phone there, because you know your dog is about to do a poo and you're like, ‘Oh, I didn't notice, because I'm on my phone’, but I don't think it's a coincidence that you're on your phone during the poo.

“I don't even know if there's anyone on the other on the other end of the line when that dog is doing a poo, is what I'm saying about that.”

"Is this gross?"

Ciara said she’s a “big dog lover” but “nobody wants to see your dog poo”.

“We should be enforcing [it] you're 100% right, but it isn't the case that a dog warden can be everywhere that's not possible down every, you know, country path," she said.

Ciara said she thinks people need to take responsibility for their dog’s poo and think “is this gross?” before they walk away from it.

Dog excrement bag. Image: Alamy