I walk our dog religiously every morning and take different directions to make it more interesting and come across piles of dog poo left on the ground by lazy dog owners who don’t care for anyone but themselves and their dogs (who don’t know any better).

 The piles are huge and usually associated with large dogs and are just left on the footpath, or as the woman from Austi says, ‘‘left in the sand’’.

  The other day we saw a  lady walking  three large golden retrievers and one went to the toilet on the grass. After the cars went past and she pretended to get her bag out and pick it up, she saw that no-one was around and just walked away and left it.

  This is what we have to put up with and maybe we all need to have a say and call out if we see these people doing the wrong thing. 

It’s the only way to stop it.

Tony & Cara Dunn, West Wollongong

Wife’s needs were put first

As my husband, Cr John Murray, has a policy of not responding to destructive criticism, I am writing to correct the comments made by Cr Kellie Marsh (Mercury, October 2) ‘‘just another example of the lies, deception and games played by the ALP’’, and also the web comments made by the person under the pseudonym of the ‘‘Joker’’ (October 5).

 Our recent holiday overseas was booked during last January/February. What with the holiday festivities and care commitment of grandchildren, Cr Murray and I overlooked that the mayoral election would be scheduled during our absence when we committed to our holiday.

 Our holiday included a visit to Port Vila, which was our honeymoon destination many years ago, and my husband knew that it was important to me to share this experience with him. Hence he resigned himself that missing the vote was how it would be, without raising the issue with me.  As election time grew nearer, and both our discomfort grew, I raised the issue with him. 

We jointly agreed to try and obtain a flight home for him ASAP.

So Joker if you want to condemn Cr Murray for placing his wife’s needs above his own – then go right ahead! Cr Marsh, before you get another bout of verbal diarrhoea, I suggest you check your facts. It’s the least you can do to properly represent the people that voted for you!

Finally, we paid for the cost of this last-minute flight – it was not at the ratepayers’ expense.

Jennifer Murray, Shell Cove

Fertiliser pile smelly

As a regular user of the dog park at Figtree Oval I was wondering why there is a huge pile of fertiliser dumped in the car park?

  This happens every now and then and takes up four car spaces instead of being placed on the gardens where I assume it is supposed to be. 

 The pile stays there until the public take boxes away bit by bit.  The smell is horrendous and lots of small children play around here whilst sports are being played on weekends. 

  There is also a plague of flies and other bugs around there.   Also, the toilets near the playground have been vandalised some time ago and still have not been replaced so there is nowhere for people to go.

 I would have thought that a toilet was a priority for the public to use in a park.

Joy Dixon, Figtree