Dog bites are a real problem. 500 000 complaints a year. The victims are often those nearest the animal....and postmen! (1,900 victims of bites per year). Children aged from 1 to 14 (40.2%) are the principal victims, most often boys.
Le postier fait sa tournée. The Postman does his rounds.
Another problem is the state of the footpaths after dogs have passed through. You have to watch out where you put your feet! Neither the dogs nor their owners are well brought up...the owners often allow their dogs to "go" anywhere!
It's not nice. To excuse themselves, the French have a superstition. If you put your left foot in a doggy poo, it brings you good luck. Really funny, eh?
In Paris, doggy poo causes 600 "slip ups" per day! Old people and young children are the principal victims of these falls.
In Paris itself, there are 16 tonnes of dog refuse (poo) per day, which causes 650 accidents per day.
Removing the doggy do and cleaning the roads and footpaths is extremely costly work - 15 million € per year, or the cost of building four child care centres!
Here's the street sweeper in his green uniform. He has an awful task because of dogs. Every morning at 4 am, they start cleaning up the streets. The clean up teams arrive. They wash out the footpaths and the gutters.
What's being done to discourage dogs from "going" just anywhere?
Dog toilets were put in, costing 7 000€ each. Without success. Dog loos are finished. Why? Dogs don't "go" on order, and they like to choose their own foopath or tree!
Here are some examples of doggy loos without the dogs!
A new anti-dog poo plan has commenced in Paris and in France as a whole - plastic bag distributors have been put into streets and squares. The campaign has a slogan:"I like my suburb, I clean up".
Fines are heavy, from 440 Euros (up to 2 000 Euros for the second offence.) But the laws and fines are not working - the dog owners tend to ignore the problem.
Town councils and residents continue to encourage people and their dogs to respect footpaths and shops. Here are some posters and signs that you might see.
Dogs aren't allowed in this park, even if they are on a lead.
The sign opposite was inside a cathedral. It tells the dog to inform its master to leave it outside as it cannot pray or admire the building. It says to ask its owner to give it an extra pat when it's left.
Sorry to say, you still have to look on the ground when you go for a walk in France!
Photos: © Patricia Barry, 2005. Source: Système Européen de Surveillance des Accidents
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