Meet the inspiring anti-litter champion leading dog fouling campaign

Cardiff Council are pleased to welcome Penny Bowers as volunteer ambassador for the Leave Only Pawprints campaign, a friendly, non-confrontational way to tackle attitudes and behaviours around dog fouling.

Penny, from Llandaff North, comes from a background of working with dogs and her impressive resume includes Chair at Friends of Hailey Park, Social Media Officer for Cardiff Dogs Action and Four Paws Foster Carer and Fundraiser. Penny also hosts two dog shows a year in Cardiff and has been fostering dogs for the past 17 years.

A Cardiff Council spokesperson said, “We are thrilled to welcome Penny on board as a figurehead for the Leave Only Pawprints campaign. Penny’s an advocate of speaking about responsible dog ownership, having been a dog owner for 50 years.”

“We look forward to working with Penny at the forefront of the campaign, promoting our Leave Only Pawprints message across the city. We’ll be working with Penny to meet with dog groups, networks, charities and vets. In the New Year we’ll launch pop-ups across our Cardiff parks where we encourage residents to come along, meet fellow dog walkers and learn more about the campaign.”

Penny said, “I’m delighted to be part of the Leave Only Pawprints campaign. There are a lot of responsible dog owners in Cardiff, however there’s still a few that don’t clean up after their dogs so I’m pleased to be part of a campaign to help encourage and support fellow dog walkers.”

Penny’s Top 3 Tips For Responsible Dog Walking:

1. Buy nappy bags instead of dog poo bags, I pick up 300 for just 35p in my local supermarket.
2. Pick up a large tote bag from a charity shop and if your dog goes when you’re out on a walk, you can pop the used dog poo bags straight in the bag until you reach a bin. Remember, you can use any general litter bin, it doesn’t need to be a dog poo bin.
3. Sign up to become a Leave Only Pawprints champion and pledge to carry extra bags on your walks to give to fellow dog walkers if needed.

The Leave Only Pawprints campaign encourages dog owners and their dogs to sign up as local Champions, recognised by ‘Leave Only Pawprints’ badges that are worn by both dog and owner.

Leave Only Pawprints Champions carry extra bags so if another dog owner doesn’t have one they can ask a Champion. To find out more, or to become a champion, please visit www.keepcardifftidy.com