Page 10 - Spring 2022 Community Newsletter ENG

‘Leave Only Pawprints’ has gone international
Our latest dog fouling news story
featuring a former rugby player has
been picked up in international news.
Darryl Adams was hospitalised in 2005
after his shin was stamped on with
rugby boot studs, covered in dog poo,
in a Blaenau Gwent playing field. The
studs cut the skin on his shin and the
dog poo caused a cellulitis infection.
Darryl’s story received national coverage
on WalesOnline, LADbible, The Mirror
and Metro. The campaign has also
featured in the US Express, US Sun and
has even been translated into French,
Vietnamese and Polish!
“I ended up having a week in hospital
and the doctor who treated me said
that once you get cellulitis, all it
takes is something small to trigger
it off again. The infection flared
up twice between 2005 and 2013.
The last flare up in 2013 was the worst.
All it took was heavy flu to trigger it and I
was hospitalised for two weeks because
the infection had tracked into my veins.
Ever since then my leg has never been
right, it is constantly swollen and looks
awful – all from some selfish person
who couldn’t be bothered to pick up
after their dog! I’m backing Keep Wales
Tidy’s dog fouling campaign to urge dog
owners to do the right thing and pick
up after their pets before more people
are seriously harmed.” Darryl Adams
We’re so grateful to Darryl for
supporting our ‘Leave Only Pawprints’
campaign and sharing his
changing story to raise awareness
of the harmful impact not picking
up after your pets can have.
Read Darryl’s full story
Primary school paints Milford Haven pink!
As part of our dog fouling campaign, bright
pink pawprints have been appearing
across the country, guiding dog owners
to bins and encouraging them do the
right thing.
Pupils at St. Francis Catholic Primary
School in Milford Haven were keen to get
involved and highlight the issue along the
Milford Waterfront parkrun course.
The route has become very popular
over the past two years due to the
introduction of the weekly 5km parkrun
event; however, issues with dog fouling
are becoming a concern, with parkrun
volunteers having to clean up the course
every Saturday morning.
life
Milford Waterfront parkrun Event
Director Jon Phillips said: “Our parkrun
event is extremely popular and we’re
seeing a growing number of tourists from
all over the world attend every week,
including more and more young children.
It’s a shame our course is remote enough
for irresponsible dog owners to feel they
can let their dogs roam free. We’re making
a stance by supporting Keep Wales Tidy
in tackling this issue and to ask people to
clean up after their dog”.
As well as spraying pawprints and
#BagItBinIt tags, the pupils also carried
out a clean-up around the marina,
collecting a total of six bags weighing
more than 10kg in less than two hours.
Mrs Roberts the School Headteacher
commented: “We were delighted to be
invited by the staff of Keep Wales Tidy
to take part in the efforts to improve our
local area. Our eco-club members are
very aware of the responsibility they have
to protect and nurture our environment
and are keen to take part in any activity
that helps to support that. They were
particularly proud to be considered
custodians of Milford Haven and would
welcome further opportunities to
develop this role.”