I guess SHE won't be signing our petition

Procrastination is the thief of time!!

The top of my road at 6.30 this morning

Urgh .... I feel like I’ve been in reverse gear today ... so many thoughts in my head ... so many ideas ..... but I’ve accomplished nothing .... unless doing the housework and downloading photos counts as something.  Oh yes .... and arguing with the Dog Warden!

That man has a problem .... his little notebook comes out way too frequently when he’s around me.  


My hound WAS on lead .... but I wasn’t HOLDING the lead.  Sebastian wasn’t on lead but Sebastian’s 14 ... he’s an old man and he loves to wander around the trees ... 

he gets his long lead hopelessly tangled so Carol takes if off.  Carol had just asked me if the chap she’d seen in the black shorts and black and red shirt was a Dog Warden .... I’d looked and said no .... as I said this a red van pulled into the kerb and my favourite individual emerged.  He didn’t even hesitate ..... walked straight towards us pulling out his little notebook!

The long and short of the story is that he took down all our details .... AGAIN. I did argue that my hound was on lead and was under control, which is what the By-law states she should be.  Nowhere in the By-law does it state I have to be holding the lead .... just that she has to be under control ... and she is, she responds to voice control. 

He told me the Act states the lead has to be held by a person or be fastened to something so that the dog cannot break loose.  He even went back to his van and phoned headquarters so he could write down the clause number and details so I can look it up myself.  I value this as often when chatting to other humans with hounds on the

beach, they’re unaware of the relevant By-laws or the Act ..... the more informed I am, the more I can ensure fewer owners are fined and that we retain the right to walk our hounds on the beach.


In all his 14 years Sebastain has NEVER received a warning .... that might have changed today ... it remains
to be seen if we’ll both receive

warnings or if I’ll be fined .... 
for back-chatting, I guess!


The humorous side to this story is that as he was returning to the van Carol and I spotted a lady walking her hound in the waves .... AFTER the permitted time! He didn’t even head down her way ... just climbed back into the van and continued down the

road.  I have a photo showing the time and date she was on the beach and, should Carol or I receive a fine, that photo will be accompanying our objections.


I wondered at first if standing my ground is the right thing to do ... but if I don’t question the interpretation of the by-laws then I’m choosing to remain ignorant. I’m impressed that he took the trouble to access the relevant section of the Act for me ... and yes, I did thank him ... and I told him my hound now swims with a 20m rope attached to her collar. Our dealings with him are always polite but I’m beginning to feel a bit victimised.

What she likes to do after a swim.

I did chuckle as Carol and I headed back along the boardwalk ... we stopped to speak to a couple sitting on one of the benches who always say hello to Sebastian. Carol told them we’d just been stopped by the Dog Warden and an elderly lady walking by said “Good” in a very annoyed fashion as she pushed past Sebastian who

was blocking her path. We were all quite lost for words at her unnecessary comment .... and then we laughed ... Mark Twain came to mind “Humour is mankind’s greatest blessing”.  I guess SHE won’t be signing our petition!