DOG FOULING IS not something that people welcome on any street – but did you know it can be especially bad for people with limited mobility?
Wheelchair users and people with visual impairment can end up bringing remnants of the waste home with them as it gets easily stuck to wheels and canes.
This poses a health risk and is something that can have serious consequences for people affected by it. For example, getting into contact with poo from a dog with a certain type of worms can lead to people contracting toxicariasis,which can in turn lead to blindness.
The Cashel Gold Star initiative, which works on increasing accessibility for all in Cashel town, has created a video to raise awareness of this. It also shows the annoyance that can be posed by people who throw their chewing gum on the ground.
(ST DC/YouTube)
Anne Bradshaw, who works with the HSE in coordinating the Cashel Gold Star project, told TheJournal.ie that the video was borne of the frustration of people living in the town.
She said that for a wheelchair user going down the street, dog poo can end up on their hands, on food, and can end up being ingested.
When a substance like this, or like chewing gum, gets on wheelchair wheels, the wheelchairs often have to be taken apart so that the wheels are washed thoroughly.
“An older person doesn’t have capacity to clean it themselves,” she pointed out. “It’s a huge thing.”
Bradshaw said it also poses a problem for visually impaired people using a stick, as the stick can roll into the substance.
People with visual impairment have to fold up that cane and bring it into the car with them, or onto the bus. They get it onto their hands, smell it… it’s just very unhygienic.
The video was created by schoolchildren in Cashel, and an updated version is expected out soon. Funding was provided by Clonmel Waste, and there were prizes up for grabs for the children that took part in the project.
They are hoping to generate new interest in the campaign, and get councils on board to promote the use of ‘pooper scooper’ bags.
For now though, Cashel Gold Star participants are encouraging all of us to add this to the many reasons why people should clean up after their dog has done its ‘business’.
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