A talented 10-year-old girl has created an eye-catching poster to encourage people to pick up after their pets.
Satine Cator’s design was named overall winner in a competition run as part of Durham County Council’s responsible dog ownership campaign in Ferryhill and Chilton.
Pupils from five local primary schools, Ferryhill Station, Broom Road, Cleves Cross, Dean Bank and Chilton, were asked to design a poster reminding residents to pick up and dispose of their pets’ waste correctly.
Satine, who attends Chilton Primary School, came out on top with her ‘Scoop that Poop’ poster, which will be made into bin stickers and put on dog fouling bins in the area. Every entry will also be displayed on school fences.
The campaign, which was run by the council and Approach Too – a not-for-profit company working to make a difference for the people of Ferryhill and Chilton, also saw schoolchildren take part in a special walk identifying dog mess on their routes to school to highlight the problems they face every day.
There was also a Golden Ticket incentive where anyone seen cleaning up after their dog was entered into a prize draw.
Twenty-seven golden tickets were handed out and the winner was Carol Baker who won a £25 shopping voucher.
And a dog health check and free microchipping event, held in partnership with The Dogs Trust, saw 106 dogs microchipped and 72 owners sign up to the Green Dog Walkers scheme, which involves pledging to always pick up after your pet and encourage others to do the same.
The campaign was funded by county councillors for Ferryhill John Lindsay and Pauline Crathorne.
Cllr Lindsay said: “It is really important to spread the message about being a responsible dog owner and picking up after your pet to everyone, so it was pleasing to see such a positive response to the campaign.
“We were delighted to see so many local schoolchildren take part in the competition and come up with some fantastic designs and congratulations to Satine for being named the overall winner. It was also encouraging that so many attended the dog health check and microchipping event and signed up to the Green Dog Walkers scheme.
“While the majority are responsible dog owners, we hope the hard work and effort that went into this campaign will go some way to changing attitudes among the few who don’t always pick up after their pets.”
Dog fouling can be reported at www.durham.gov.uk/dogfouling or by calling 03000 261 000.
People can join the Green Dog Walkers scheme by downloading a form at www.durham.gov.uk/greendogwalkers or call 03000 261 000.
Find out more about the council’s Civic Pride team at www.durham.gov.uk/civicpride and email civicpride@durham.gov.uk or call 03000 261 000 to receive the Civic Pride newsletter.
