This article is from page 11 of the 2011-10-04 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 11 JPG
THE COUNTY’S dog warden has been forced to contend with abuse from several dog owners in Shannon in recent weeks.
Frankie Coote told The Clare People that Shannon is a blackspot for roaming dogs and said that many dog owners are not facing up to the laws that exist.
He said that the issue of roaming dogs is more prevalent in Shannon than in any other part of the county. Kilrush and Shannon were the blackspots in the past, but Kilrush is now less of a headache than it was.
“We have never worked harder than what we are doing in Shannon at the moment,” said Frankie Coote.
He has been forced to contact the gardaí, after dog owners verbally abused him on numerous occasions in recent weeks.
“Shannon is the worst at the moment. I have had to have the guards out with me in the last few months. I’ve issued fines and warnings and taken away several dogs from there,” he said.
“More and more people are getting abusive,” he added.
“If I go to a call in Ennis, it’s rare I have to contact the guards,” he said.
He made the comments as Shannon Town Council has been asked to contact Mr Coote amid concerns over the huge number of stray dogs in the town.
Fine Gael councillor Vincent Cole- man has placed a motion on the issue, which is due to be discussed at a monthly meeting of the council this (Tuesday) evening. Mr Coleman has said the issue is “beginning to cause problems once again”.
Mr Coote said he has received sev eral complaints about dogs running around without leads in sports areas including Lees Road and the fairgreen in Ennis.
“People don’t realise they have to keep their dogs on leads,” he added.
He is pleased with the reduction in the number of dogs roaming around in Kilrush. “Kilrush has improved. There has been a marked improvement,” he said.
In general, there are multiple com plaints about wild dogs on a daily basis. “I could be dealing with 10 complaints some days over dogs being loose, dangerous behaviour and barking,” he said.