OLD COLWYN EAST RESIDENTS ASSOCIATION
minute of talk by Barbara Cowling Dog Warden Conwy CBC
12th May 2004
12th May 2004
Old Colwyn (East) Residents’ Association
Minute of a Talk on 12 th May 2004 by
Barbara Cowling a Dog Warden with Conwy County Borough Council
Barbara Cowling was introduced by the Chair and gave a very interesting talk about her work and the problems associated with it.
The job, she outlined was not to deal only with dog fouling. The main priority was to pick up and deal with stray dogs.
She said that she was aware that Old Colwyn has a particular problem with dog fouling.
One major problem is that her department has only one dog warden, Barbara Cowling. As a rule there are two dog wardens but one is off sick at present until June.
Dog fouling is getting worse and worse observations are required to deal properly with the problem but they are not a priority. The fixed penalty notices have been increased from £25 to £75. She said that she had issued two, in the last two weeks. They were as a result of being in the right place at the right time.
Her workload is heavy; the department is too thin on the ground. S he did however say that there was to be another person to help pick up dogs and someone else was to start part time soon.
She then touched on how the public could help . S he said that if a person sees someone allowing dog to foul without clearing up and knows the name and address, if the person is willing to make a statement, a dog warden could then visit the person and offer a fixed penalty. If the person refused then the informant would have to go to court to give evidence. Her difficulty, she said was that people did not want to get involved.
A resident mentionedtheissue of a resident picking up a stray dogout of hours without knowledge of what to do with it.
Barbara answered that dog wardens do not work out of hours. S he went on to say that she had dealt with one person seen three times for three separate offences, a person had made a statement and the case had to go to court.
The council is pushing for more dog wardens.
When asked how many successes there have been in twelve months she replied “Twenty”
She said that she sometimes makes a 07:00 start. In some places such as Min y Don Park it is possible to see for a long distance and therefore it is easier to catch people. Some streets are not so easy to operate in. She recounted that only that evening she had seen a man with a dog in the park, who went as soon as he saw her van.
A resident asked If it was possible to put signs up that dog wardens were on patrol.
Barbara asked where the signs should be put; the resident replied that they should be put in parks.
A resident said that she understood that a dog warden could not work seven days but that a person last week had taken a stray dog to the Police Station at Colwyn Bay which could not take it. She had been taken it to Llandudno Police Station where she was told to get hold of a warden.
Barbara replied that it is a police duty to take stray dogs. Soon the police will have only two holding areas. O ne at a Rhyl and one at Llandudno. T he council picks up the dogs as a favour to the police. At the weekend there is no dog warden cover.
T he resident went on to say that Llandudno had accepted the dog and she had asked if they had food and water. She rang the next day and was told that the dog had escaped which had upset her as it was a very quiet dog which would not have wanted to escape. .
Barbara answered that several dogs have escaped from Llandudno Police Station.
There were just not enough dog wardens to go around, the budget was insufficient.
A resident said “my daughter lives at the entrance to a park in Station Road. People regularly pick up dog fouling in a bag and a look around for somewhere to put the bag.
When they do not find a bin, they throw it into the park”.
Barbara answered, “ It then becomes litter and is not my jurisdiction. We do lack bins”.
Resident. T hese notices about dog fouling have the effect of driving people along the promenade. Sometimes in the morning the beach is alive. Does the dog warden cover the beach ?
Barbara replied that the dog wardens do cover the beach; the dogs of irresponsible owners may often not to be wormed and therefore can be a danger to children. S he said that they tried to hit areas but struggled to cope. S he said that she had the visited Beach Road every weekday for three weeks and that had made a difference. Once again however with staff being thin on the ground , that level of commitment cannot be maintained.
A resident gave her view that it was mainly men who did not clear up after their dogs. Perhaps they were too embarrassed she said .
Barbara told of an incident in Pentre Mawr Park, Abergele. S he had offered a fixed penalty to the owner of a dog who had not cleared up after the dog. The person accepted the ticket but did not pay it. She had visited the address and the person swore at her. Eventually the case went to court and the person was given a £40 fine.
Councillor Squire said that he started the dog warden service years ago and it was the policy to prosecute every time. T he magistrates should be tackled over derisory fines he said.
He went on to ask if a statement was made for press publicity when prosecutions were gained . T his can act as a deterrent he said. H e also felt that a fine should be a minimum of £100 at Court as a deterrent.
Councillor Squire said that due to reorganisation Services have been reduced something which councillors are acting upon. He had had made a presentation about the costs incurred in the managing of Welsh Office performance indicators. It was strongly felt that this cost could be applied to front line services. Dogs, grass cutting, bins, there is a lot of waste.
The Chair commented to the meeting that he felt that if the other dog warden had been off work a long time, the person should be replaced. He went on to say that his friend had been bitten by a dog . Tw o people were off sick in the dog warden department and he praised the way that Barbara Cowling had dealt with the case. He went on to say that something should be done.
A s there were no further questions, the Chair thank ed Barbara for her excellent talk and there was a round of applause. He went on to say that the Association would write to the Council to press for more dog wardens.
