Brownlee Primary pupil is a responsible dog owner

Lisburn City Council Dog Wardens have met with local primary schools across the City and spoken to over one thousand pupils, promoting the messages of staying safe around dogs and responsible dog ownership.

As part of the Bee Safe initiative, the Council ran a competition to design a poster based on what the schoolchildren had learnt from the talk provided by a Council Dog Warden.

The winner of the competition was Kacie Turkington a P7 pupil at Brownlee Primary School, who received the prize of a new mountain bike, from Hickland Cycles, for all her hard work in creating a terrific poster on dog fouling and the associated £50 penalty fine for those failing to clean up after the dogs.

The Council’s Senior Dog Warden, Joanne MacAskill was delighted with the success of the scheme: “Each year it is great to have the opportunity to meet with children, from across the City area, to encourage them to take responsibility for looking after their pet dog and educate them on staying safe around dogs.

“It is simple to be a responsible dog owner by ensuring there is a regular supply of fresh water available, feeding regularly, closing the garden gate or house door and giving the dog some exercise, all of which will ensure that a dog is properly cared for.”

Councillor Jenny Palmer, Chair of the Council’s Environmental Services Committee, congratulated Kacie and presenting her with her prize said: “It is very obvious that Kacie has thought carefully about what information to portray; and most importantly she has chosen a message that is very central to the Council’s work programme at the minute as its Dog Wardens carry out a dog fouling blitz across the City.”