Published: Tuesday, 25th March, 2008 12:00
"Keep Largs a more attractive and pleasant place for everyone"
By The Largs
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If you are a responsible dog owner in Largs who picks up after your dog, big licks are due to you. Not only are you keeping to the law and showing consideration for others in the community, you are helping to prevent the spread of disease.
Unfortunately there are not enough people like you around.
The charity that runs the KEEP BRITAIN TIDY CAMPAIGN, has calculated that around 60% of dog owners in the UK (around 4.6 million adults) ignore their dog's mess and leave it in public places for others to step in.
For those of you who think that this is a small problem, think again! Toy breeds, such as Yorkshire terriers, produce about 100g of faeces per day. Giant Breeds, such as St. Bernard can produce as much as 1kg per day. When you consider that there are an estimated 7.4 million dogs in the UK that adds up to a lot of dog poo. In fact there are
approximately 1,000 tonnes of faeces produced by dogs in the UK every day!
This may go some way to explain why dog fouling rates very high on residents list of complaints throughout the UK. Many of these complaints focus on the inconvenience and unsightliness caused by dog fouling. And rightly so. Nobody wants live in a disgusting environment. Nor do they enjoy having to clean filth of their shoes because a dog owner won't take just a few moments to clear up after their dog. (That's all it takes - I am a dog owner myself!) There is, however, a more important reason why dog owners should clear up after their dogs.
Dog poo can damage your health. All faeces contain bacteria that can cause stomach upsets if ingested. The greatest risk to public health however is from toxocariasis.
Toxocariasis can cause liver inflammation, abdominal pain and pyrexia. More severe cases can cause significant visual impairment and even blindness.
Around 20 cases of Toxocariasis are recorded in humans in the UK every year. This is caught from contact with the toxocara egg which is often present in dog faeces and becomes infectious 2-3 weeks after being deposited. Dogs which are not wormed regularly are likely to pass faeces contaminated with toxocara eggs.
In a survey highlighted by Keep Scotland Beautiful, the majority of dog owners stated that they wormed their pet regularly, however 9% of dog owners admitted that their dog had never been wormed.
The PROVET healthcare information website states that between 10-40% of adult dogs and up to 70% of puppies have the toxocara worm present in their body but they show no external signs of disease. However, these dogs periodically pass the egg state of the worm in their faeces and so contaminate the environment and act as a source of infection for spread to other animals. A puppy can pass as many as 15,000 eggs per gram of faeces, and they are a major source of contamination.
Young children are more likely than adults to develop Toxocariasis. This is due to their weaker immune systems and because they can accidentally ingest the eggs through contact with contaminated soil or sand, while playing in parks or play areas. They can also be contaminated by playing with puppies and dogs that have licked fur with T canis eggs stuck to it.
A BBC website gives the results of a survey on this problem. Random soil sampling showed that the majority of parks in the UK are contaminated with Toxocara eggs in various stages of development. The eggs are resistant to freezing and disinfectants and can survive for up to three years in the soil.
There is no useful treatment or cure to toxocariasis. Regular worming of dogs can prevent this.
So thank you again to all of you who are responsible dog owners. If you are a dog owner who is not picking up after your dog please think again. Don't give your dog a bad name. All it takes is a few moments to clear up after your pet and you can help to keep Largs a more attractive and pleasant place for everyone to live, and can help to prevent the spread of disease.
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