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The Parkes and District Amateur Soccer Association is appealing to residents to clean up after their pets. President Kevin Medlyn said the committee is sick and tired of irresponsible dog owners exercising their animals at Harrison Park and not cleaning up after them. “We have to do walk arounds on Saturday morning to clean up before anyone gets here,” he said. “We are picking up at least three or four dog droppings on the soccer fields every Saturday. “Participants regularly come and ask us for bags or paper towel so they can pick up the ones we’ve missed.” Harrison Park consists of eight fields - a combined six acres on both sides of Nash Street - and is signposted to say users must clean up after their dogs and keep them on a leash. “It’s a big area to walk over looking for droppings,” Kevin said. Around 500 children play in the junior soccer competition on Saturdays, so the chances are if there is dog faeces on the fields - someone is going to tread in it. “It’s unhealthy,” Kevin said. “People are continually complaining about the amount of dog faeces that they tread in, or worse - their kids fall over in. “No one wants their children playing on fields with dog droppings on them.” Kevin said ideally the committee would like to see Harrison Park become a dog free area. “I drive past here on my way to and from work every day and see the inconsiderate people with their dogs not on leads, letting them run all over the fields,” he said. “And while they are running loose the owners aren’t able to supervise where they might do their business, whereas if they are on a leash the owner can see if their dog goes to the toilet and pick it up immediately.” Kevin said he regularly sees a man exercising four dogs at the fields, all of them running loose. “How is he supposed to keep track of the bowel movements of four dogs?” Kevin said. “A member of the community told us that they spoke to that gentleman and he assured them that if his dogs do anything he rubs it in with his foot! As if anyone is going to deliberately pound their foot into dog poo.” The committee is asking people who use the fields to exercise their dogs to please bring bags and keep their dogs on leads. “There are bins left out around the fields - there are no excuses. It’s an offence and penalties apply,” Kevin said.

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