Defiant dog owner ready for court

i think he should pay up .. i am a dog owner and clean up after my dog ..the pavements of Ipswich are littered with dog poo and it is disgusting ...i have to say i have never trod in horses poo or pigeon poo!!!!!!..if he is unable to do it then perhaps he should ensure his dog does it business on his own property or get some one else to walk his dog for him ..i sympathize that he has medical problems but is no excuse is just laziness ..

I think he should be banned from walking his dog in public if he or somebody with him isn't going to pick it up.... he can let it go toilet in the middle of his garden where 'nobody will stand on it or slip on it!'

Sorry, but I agree with the fine. Having had my children come home from school with this type of mess on their shoes I know what a problem it can be. There are long handled scoop type instruments available to clear up dog mess - I suggest he gets one so he can clear up after his dog.

A bi-polar, diabetic, dyslexic. Hmmm. And a former engineer too. So how did he read drawings etc. Hope I don't have to use anything he built! If you own a dog, your responsable for it's mess.

Plenty of places sell implements for disabled people. What does he do if the dog makes a mess in his house....just leave it there? I bet he picks it up sharpish then eh!

I agree with the fine, if he can't clear up after his dog, how does he bend down to feed it etc! Maybe he shouldn't be allowed to own a dog!

I agree if you own a dog you pick up the mess or let it do it in your own garden, I have dogs and always pick it up with a nappy bag people respect you for bending down and picking it up its the responsible thing to do. If you can't do this you shouldnt have a dog.

If this is the case, how does he bend down to feed the dog and give it bowls of water? There are too many people in Ipswich who want dogs but don't want to clean up after them and for him to bring horses and pigeons into the argument is irrelevant. I wonder if he would accept liability if someone was to slip and injure themselves due to his dog fouling - would he blame the dog and expect the dog to pay? - laughable!! pay up!!!

Sounds like he's using his physical condition as an excuse because he doesn't agree with cleaning up after his dog. It might cost him more in the long run, wasting court time.

I myself would love a dog, but as I have an aversion to picking up dog poo I will not have one for this reason and would not expect anyone else to do it for me. So he cannot step in the road because of his safety but he allowed his dog to do so endangering the lives of drivers. And don't we as the other public still have to cross the roads to get to the other side. I find this rather contradictory so therefore I agree with the fine otherwise all disabled people would allow their pets to poo taking us back in time when there were no laws about this. jeff norris

Who puts his socks on and ties up his shoe-laces!? Maybe the dog does it for him!? If so, it should also be able to clean up it's own mess!? suggest you pay up Mr Bristow!!! For once, I totally agree with the Council Clean Neighbour Team - now tackle those digusting people who spit in the street!!

I agree he should be made to pick up, you can get longhandled poop scoops, so there is no excuse, anyway, i have kept dogs all my life, and my dogs go in my own garden, which is what he should train this dog to do, no excuse, i have bred lhasa apsos, and they can be trained to do this

I would pay up Mr Bristow. Interesting though that horse owners don't get fined.

Thinking about his back problem how does he bend down to put the dogs food bowl on the floor.

I always pick up after my dog (not that she ever goes on pavements or roads anyway), but ignorant dog owners like this give us all a bad name.

I am a dog owner and people like mr Bristow give us all a bad name.Pick up or pay up,i also suggest you find a new owner for your dog.I hope the law in enforced and if he does not pay up on time they fine is increased.

if he can't clean up after his dog then he should not take it out,and as for letting it do its buisness in the middle of the road is just as bad as doing it on the path,you can still step in it and slip over,if anything its worse as you have the risk of being hit by a car once you have fallen,he should be made to pay up or clean up NO EXCUSES

If there's one thing that annoys me its individuals who fail to pick up after their mutts. This guy is using his catalogue of illnesses to avoid doing something which everyone has a duty to do. Fine him and then fine him again for wasting the councils time dealing with the appeal.

'However, at 7am on November 6, MR BRISTOW WAS CUT SHORT while walking his four-legged friend on Portman Road in Ipswich when a council worker ordered him to pick up the messs.' lol lol lol

I too am a dog owner I am fully in agreement with the fine but feel it should be more. What a stupid comment make the dog poo in the middle of the road. I just wonder if his garden is full of poo as well as he can't pick up after his dog. He shouldn't be allowed a dog if he can't look after it properly. On a last note drop a fiver in front of this man and see if he can pick it up

I had the very same conversation with my boyfriend this morning whilst walking our dog on the heath. We had to step over big piles of horse poo next to the sign telling people to clear up after their dogs. They provide little bags there for dog owners, how about providing bin bags for horse owners which make a lot more mess than our little dog. We always pick up after our dog and you shouldn't own a dog unless you are prepared to do so. There are plenty of gadgets out there to help people with mobility problems so crack on and scoop that poop Mr Bristow!

He'd be the first to complain if someone else left dog mess outside his house. Just because he has a disability, he isn't exempt.

The law is the law however much an ass it is. This particular ass (brought in under the guise of nanny health concern issues, which any browse on the internet will put into perspective - similar to the non-proven creosote / passive smoking risks etc etc) follows the usual Labour goverment's favoured "whip up ill-informed public media comment and then get it in quick" methods. I would like to see the same rule apply to cats as they leave behind exactly the same harmful bacteria in their droppings in others gardens. But of course cat owners (many too lazy to be dog owners) get away with it as "it's the little dears' natural behaviour" and wheel out the same old hackneyed excuses. Odd how much of a cats inherent "bad" behaviour is mirrored in that of the dog, yet only dogs and their owners are penalised for non-control. My favoured method to prevent cat crap in my garden is to train all puppies I own to "see off" any intruder - quite amusing watching a cat try to outrun a lurcher!!

Ms Woods community spirit is a good way to go. Also, a council worker ordered!!! How sad the world is getting when Council officials don't offer to help and order people!! Some training in interpersonal skills is needed in Ipswich! Take you point re. horses Mr. Bristow! Horse mess is nuisance , it is very irksome to see a rider sitting on a horse that is pooing all over the pavement and road - they do far more than a dog!

If you can't manage to pick up after the dog, don't have one! Why should the rest of us have to suffer the mess. He says " I believe my life would be in danger if I'd stopped in the road and tried to pick it up", surely he stopped in the middle of the road for the dog to do it in the first place! If he gets away with it, others will try it. Pay up John Bristow!

Alex! lol, lol! ;0) Read that and had a chuckle!! Thanks for mentioning it lol! By the way folks, I was left paralyzed after a RTA over 30 years ago. Although I recovered, still have problems with my back, legs and hips. Sometimes I can't bend, walk far and am in considerable pain. I know what it is like not to be able to bend and pick things up. You pick them up later, leave your socks off till you are able to put them on and leave them on till you can take them off. Lots of older people have to do these things. Still chuckling Alex lol!

Agree with Chris Ward. How does bend down and put the lead on the dog if he has a bad back. Another classic case of someone thinking "oh...im over 65, so every old person in Ipswich will agree with me so we can moan at the Council".

This man used to be a customer in my shop and he had no problems bending down to pick his dog up and take into shops. I bet he wud have a Right moan if he stepped in some but he ain't bothered about leaving it for someone else to step in if you can't clear up the mess don't have a dog man pay up

Hmmmmmm

Just to clear up the difference between dog and horse owners being fined. Dog mess poses a health risk due to the fact dogs ingest meat based products. Think about it logically, people pay for horse manure for the garden so to fine horse owners would just be rdiculous. No health risk=no fine. I do wonder if this man should be allowed to keep a dog at all.

The only pitty is, the fine was not much, much more! This is a disgusting thing for any dog owner to let happen and anything that deters owners from letting their dogs foul anywhere, is a big, big plus in my book!!! If any person is not able to clean up their dogs mess, they should not be allowed to have a dog!!!

The fine shoud be more.

If he had a medical condition that caused him blindness, should he be allowed to have a licence and drive a car? Of course not! He should therfore pay the fine and arrange for someone that can pick up it's mess to walk the dog. I don't want to step in this dog's mess whilst crossing the road!

Dog poo is disgusting and I am fed up with people letting their dogs do their business outside my gate and not picking it up! I am always cleaning other ppls dog mess and I dont even have a dog! Horses dont poo on pavements, and its not nearly as vile as dog poo, so its not really a problem is it!? I do think that owners should be fined much more than £50! And good on the council worker for reporting this lazy owner, nobody else is enforcing these rules!! Bring back Dog Licenses, some people obviously arent fit to own a pet!!!

If he's not prepared to pick up his dog's mess, then serve him an ASBO - preventing him taking his dog out for a walk. I don't want my son to walk in dog mess, pick up diseases etc. If you can't look after your pets - your shouldn't have one!

They both look very similar in this picture.

I hope he ends up having to pay all the court costs as well. It is dusgusting. Bring back the dog license. There would not be so many dogs then. I have got no sympathy for the man. And from all the other comments nobody else has. Perhaps you should send him the list of comments.

CAROL best of luck with your problems I do appreciate its difficult with disablilties.. but I am not at all sure about this story, The council worker could have offered to help at least that one occasion Glad we share same humour

Quote - Ms Woods community spirit is a good way to go. Also, a council worker ordered!!! How sad the world is getting when Council officials don't offer to help and order people!! Sorry but why should someone else pick up his Dog's Mess...I have a dog and it isn't something I enjoy doing but I DO pick up his mess when he does it, I would dream of someone totally unconnected to me or my dog picking up his Poo!!!...and why shouldn't the Council Worker Order him to pick it up? No different to a Police Officer 'ordering' you to put you seat belt or a Traffic Warden 'ordering' to move on!...It's law to pick up after your dog and if you don't you are commiting an offence. The Council Worker was doing the job he was paid to do! I bet you would be the first person to phone the 'Council' complaining if you slipped in said Dog's Mess on path/road and hurt yourself, it would then be a case of the Council not doing there job properly!!! Clean Up Mr Bristow, I see you on the Free Shuttle bus most mornings and you certainly have had no problem bending down to pick up your dog when you need to then!!!!

I'm sure he wouldn't have a problem pickin a £50 note up from the ground lol

Hang on a second - what on earth does the fact he is "bipolar" (manic depressive) do with any of this? And I find it surprising that although he can read letters, he cannot write them. He also can dress himself and support himself, (after all , he only "occasionally" walks with a stick), but can't be bothered to pick up his own dog mess? The answer is simple - he should be fined the full £1000, learn some manners, and the Evening Star should present the story less sympathetically. How about the headline "disgusting illegal anti social behaviour by local troublemaker punished by statutory fine"?

This makes me so angry, if this man owns a dog it is his responsibility to pick up after his dog. There is no excuse even if he has a bad back, there are plenty of products on the market that would let him pick up the poo without having to bend down. I wish more fines were issued and maybe our streets might become a lot cleaner. Have a look at these www.dickybag.com, they make it easier to pick up after your dog and carry it easily. There is no excuse.