In a year filled with tales of abandoned lockdown puppies or “fur babies”, and dognappers at every gate, there is one messy truth.
There’s been a surge in dog fouling complaints.
Across West Lothian the council has seen numbers climb from 206 in April to June in the first months of the 2020 lockdown to almost 300 in the same time this year.
Complaints to street cleaning services centred on fouled roads and pathways. Close behind were open spaces and children’s play parks.
A total of 263 complaints were made between April and June this year. Figures for January to March- the fourth quarters in 2020 and 2021- also showed big jumps. Across the nine council wards 181 complaints were logged this year compared with 109 for the same period in 2020.
As with last year the number of complaints outstrips the numbers of fixed penalty notices issued. But the council has reiterated that fines will be imposed if dog owners are identified.
As highlighted by the Local Democracy Reporting Service earlier this year social media tales of widespread dognapping across the county were not backed up by actual police reports, where only two cases had been identified.
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