A HOMEOWNER was hounded by her council after a nightmare neighbour reported dog poo in her own garden that was ” actually bark chippings”.
Mai Bufton, 26, from Luton, Bedfordshire, was even threatened with court after someone complained of “excessive” dog faeces in her backyard.
Kennedy NewsMai Bufton, 26, says she was reported for ‘excessive’ dog foul in her back garden by a ‘nightmare neighbour’[/caption]
Kennedy NewsThe 26-year-old believes the person who reported it may have mistaken garden bark, circled, for dog faeces[/caption]
Kennedy NewsMai’s three dogs (left to right) Frankie, Elsey, and Hughey[/caption]
She received a stern email from a Luton Borough Council investigations officer who claimed they had received the complaint for what Mai argues was just bark chippings.
Mai believes a “petty” neighbour or passerby had sneakily peered into her garden, spotting some mess before she had any chance to pick it up.
The customer service advisor also claims they may have mistaken garden bark for the offending muck.
Mai owns two French bulldogs and a Frenchie-Pei and insists she regularly cleans her garden.
She explained that when she tried to quiz the council about who made the “weird complaint”, it refused to tell her.
Outraged by the situation, Mai shared a clip on social media captioned “nightmare neighbours“, and it has already amassed more than 1,000 views.
In the video, she angrily asks: “Tell me why my pups should be doing their business in my house?”
Countless viewers came to Mai’s support, branding the neighbour a “Karen”.
One user said: “If you clear it up what’s the issue? Do they expect your dogs to use the toilet?”
Another added: “If it’s your own private garden, then the neighbour is being a ‘Karen’.”
A third agreed, saying: “Nosey neighbour. Tell the council to go away.”
A fourth said: “The council has no right to tell you what to do in your garden.”
Despite this, some did point out that dog fouling can be an “environmental health issue”, adding that it can stink in warmer weather.
One wrote: “The smell can be horrible in the summer. Easy just clean it up.”
Another added: “It’s an environmental health issue so the council still deal with it whether you own the house or not.”
A third said: “The thing is when those poops build up and there’s a sunny day it makes other people’s gardens smell like poop too.”
The email Mai received from Luton Borough Council warned her of the “excessive” dog fouling, adding it could result in a “nuisance being caused by smell or flies”.
It also cited The Environmental Protection Act 1990, threatening Mai with prosecution “if the problem continues”.
The full email Mai received from Luton Borough Council
Good morning, I am an investigations officer for Luton Borough Council.
I have been asked to review a complaint about excessive dog fouling to the rear of your property.
I work with legislation linked to the Environment Act and on this occasion the relevant wording is below:
Failure to keep a property free of dog fouling on a regular basis can result in a nuisance being caused by smell or flies.
Under The Environmental Protection Act 1990 a Statutory Nuisance notice can be served and if the problem continues, the person responsible for the dog may face prosecution.
Can I ask that you have a good clean-up of the rear yard, or maybe you already have and if that is the case can you send me an image of the clear up.
Once this has been completed this complaint can be closed.
I would ask going forward that you tidy up after your dog/dogs so that no further issues are raised.
However, Mai is now speaking out about the baffling complaint as temperatures begin to rise and other dog owners could face the same issue.
Describing the situation, she said: “It was all a bit weird.
“I was shocked to receive that email and at first I thought it was a scam.
“Because of the subject of it as well I was thinking ‘someone’s pulling my leg here’.”
Mai said she was frustrated the “passerby” hadn’t come directly to her to complain, instead choosing to go straight to the council.
She added: “I’d understand if my whole garden was full of dog poo but it’s like one or two where I haven’t been standing out there with a carrier bag underneath their butt.
“I didn’t realise you could go to the council for those types of things.
“If it was rented and a shared garden then fine, but it’s in my own private garden.”
Mai said it was unreasonable to expect her dogs to do their business indoors.
She explained they had only just come out of their “puppy stage” but that they’re toilet trained and go out into the garden.
Mai, who owns Frankie, aged one, nine-month-old Elsey, and one-year-old Hughey, said: “I don’t want that [dog faeces] in my house.
“You just about put up with it when it’s a cat in a litter tray.
“It’s like me telling you your child needs to go out into the garden instead of in the house.”
Rules over dog fouling
DOG fouling is a major issue in many different areas of the UK.
Many consider dog fouling to be a nuisance and it’s associated with various diseases including toxocara canis, which can infect humans.
Dog owners are expected to clean up after their dog in public places – you can report dog fouling that isn’t cleaned up, to your local council.
The Litter (Animal Droppings) Order 1991 made under the Environmental Protection Act (1990) places a duty on local authorities to keep the following areas clear of dog faeces:
Any public walk or pleasure ground
Any land laid out as a garden or used for the purpose of recreation
Any part of the seashore which is frequently used by large numbers of people, and managed by the person having direct control of it as a tourist resort or recreational facility
Any esplanade or promenade
Any land not forming part of the highway or, in Scotland, a public road, which is open to the air, which the public are permitted to use on foot only, and which provides access to retail premises
A trunk road picnic area
A picnic site
Under the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014, owners who regularly allow their dogs to foul in public places would be committing anti-social behaviour.
The range of remedies under the act such as injunctions, community protection notices and orders and fixed penalty notices could be used against them, according to MyLawyer.
While dog fouling can be reported to the local council, and the penalty for not clearing it up can be up to £1,000 if taken to court, there are exceptions to the offence.
These are if:
The person in charge of the dog has a reasonable excuse for not clearing up. (Being unaware of the fouling or not having the means to clean up is not an excuse.)
The owner or occupier of the land has consented to the faeces being left
The person puts the faeces in a bin on the land
The person in charge of the dog has a registered visual impairment
After sending photos of her clean garden, featuring bark, to the council, it dropped the complaint.
Mai said: “I did send over pictures of the bark to the council.
“I think when they sent photos over they weren’t looking too closely at it [and thought it was dog poo].
“I wasn’t happy they were taking photos of my garden, it’s my private space.”
She added: “I’ve just carried on how it was and no one’s mentioned anything since.
“They made it seem like it was a whole garden full of dog poo everywhere and it’s not like it was 20 degrees outside.
“At the end of every day or the next morning the garden would be cleaned and every two weeks I wash the astroturf with a cleaner.”
The Sun has approached Luton Borough Council for comment.
Kennedy NewsThe complaint was dropped after Mai sent pictures of her garden, including the bark, to Luton Borough Council[/caption] Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
