“Foul” in British English VS “Foul” in American English
When you hear the word “Foul”,what would you imagine? If I heard the word,I would associate the word to baseball game. However,”Foul” has more than just one meaning. How many definitions can you come up with? It seems,in England, the word “foul” seem to be associated most with dogs.
According to yourdictionary.com, “foul”has meaning of “to make dirty”. And,this seems to be the reason why the word “foul” being used most with dog in England. (to see dictionary,click here.)
In England, you can find hundreds of dogs waste bin,which is like mail box with dog mark on it. You can usually find them at public place such as park gate. You can also find “No fouling” sign that reads “Clean up or pay up” (you can see sign here.) in neighborhood street. “No fouling” thus mean “Please do not let dogs to leave their waste on public place.Please pick up the waste”. If you look the sign closer,it says fine is 1,000 pounds in British currency.
I found that dog waste problem seem to be big in England. You can find many links regarding “Dog Fouling” if you google them. BBC reported back in 2004 that they started using small cameras to catch the offender. City council of Nottingham spent 12,000 pounds for these cameras.It states that they have used the private detectives to catch the offender before setting up the cameras. (to read more,click here)
Also,there will be ” Poop Scoop Week” from June 22nd to 28th in England to encourage dog owners to clean up after the dogs. (more detail on here)
This poop scoop week actually was started by a man who fed up with left dog wastes on his walk. He started marking the left poop with pink paint spray. After he started spraying the standing waste with pink ink spray,the standing waste has decreased.(to read more,please click here)
A little away from England, Germany has decided to do DNA test on standing dog waste in Jan 2009 to catch the offender. (to read full story,please click here)
Also, as you can find in my previous entry titled “DNA test for dog poop” , Israeli city is also doing dog poop DNA test to find an offender.
I too find big pile of dog poop here and there on our walk sometimes and, even my dog “Palette” get disgusted. I think “poop scoop week” is good idea to encourage more people to take their responsibility to clean up after the dog. Even if you don’t live in UK, you can take your responsibility and clean up after your dog,help your neighborhood stay clean.
Poop Bag. Check? Leash. Check? Pooch. Check? Go for walk, and enjoy time with your pooch. Since it is getting hot outside,it is best to go for walk when outside is not too hot. Even if you could not go for walk,you can still let your dog exercise inside the house. You can play ball,hide and seek,and you can play find it game.
Now,what do you imagine when you hear the word “foul” now?
