Could Your Dog Be a Litter Picking Womble?

As a dog owner, one of the greatest things about having a dog – apart, of course, from the unconditional love, cuddles, attention and friendship – is walkies! That chance everyday to get out into the fresh air, come rain or shine, and have that bit of ‘me’ time, away from the stresses and strains of everyday life.

I look forward to walkies everyday, and although Poppy has her favourite walks, I do try and vary them – after all, I wouldn’t want to be taken to the same place every day (boring!!) One thing that is characteristic of most walks we go on, regardless of where they are, is Poppy dog’s ability to find a discarded plastic bottle to play with! After ten years of practise she has the destruction technique down to a fine art and we have whiled away many hours, over the years, playing with bottles of all shapes and sizes! In fact, if you follow us on social media, you may well know that Poppy dog is a bit of a self-confessed Womble – I’m convinced she’d give Uncle Bulgaria a run for his money any day! Here are just a few of her best Wombling moments!!

This morning we were walking in Lacock, and true to form, after a while Poppy came enthusiastically bounding towards me, proudly carrying a bottle in her mouth. We played with it for a few minutes, as is the usual drill, and then walked on, carrying the bottle with us (after it had been sufficiently destroyed of course!) I suddenly became conscious of the amount of litter that we come across every day on our walks and it got me thinking just how easy it would be for us dog walkers to do our little bit towards keeping our countryside tidy. With that in mind, I started to collect all the litter that we came across, and put it into the doggy poo bags that I had in my pocket. Horrifyingly, by the end of the walk we had collected three bags full of rubbish, and had I been able to carry more, there was still more to collect. (Note to self , I must be more prepared and take a bigger bag next time).

What upset me more than anything was the ripped aluminium cans that we discovered in a field where horses were grazing – the consequences, if they were to eat one,  just don’t bear thinking about.

Unfortunately, it’s a sad fact that we will never be able to stop thoughtless people from dropping litter in the first place, but each and everyone of us responsible folk can do our bit to ensure that it ends up where it should – the bin! So, that’s when I came up with the idea of Womble Wednesday – something which I’m very much hoping YOU (and your dog/s) will get involved in.

How you can get involved in Womble Wednesday….

The idea is very simple, once a week choose on dog walk, (it doesn’t have to be on a Wednesday – it’s just that I have a bizarre obsession with alliteration!) take a doggy poo bag or two (which hopefully, as a responsible dog owner, you will have on your person anyway) and fill it with litter that you come across on your walk, bag it and bin it! Oh, just one thing, before you bin it, please could you take a photo of your pooch by your ‘findings’ and send it to us via Facebook, Twitter or Instagram using the hashtag #WombleWednesday.

I’m really hoping that you will join me and help to make #WombleWednesday a success. It really is so simple and if we all do our bit (just one dodgy poo bag a week each, that’s all – well obviously more if you wish) together we can make a huge difference, not only to our beautiful countryside, but also to the welfare and safety of our livestock and wildlife.

I cannot wait to see the photos of your #WombleWednesday walkies – I will upload them to the website, as and when I get them, so that everyone can see just what a fabulous job we’re all doing in the Dotty4Paws community.

Oh yes, and if anyone asks what you’re doing, or why you’re doing it, please tell them (and give them a poo bag too, if you wish, so they can join in and do their bit!)

Thanks in advance for your help you lovely peeps and keeeeep Wombling!!

Click here to see a gallery of our fellow Wombles!

Love
Kate and Poppy (aka Chief Womble) xx