Doggy Don't Do Doggy Do

Not sure how long these have been around in Budapest but I noticed new signs up on a couple of streets telling people to pick up the poop and pop it in a proper potty place (sorry, once I started I couldn't stop). The one here translates to, "Not a single Teréz district dog can clean up after you".

Updated! - 2005-08-25 12 noon

Read moreIt appears that Budapest councils have invested in proper poo bins for dogs. Maybe they got one too many letters from irate drunks who got a handful of crap when they were fishing for cigarette butts. Maybe not.

Personally I think they're great. I don't have a dog but welcome any effort to get the shit off the streets. I'm always having to tell visitors not to gaze at the architecture too much, they have to keep an eye on the pavements if they don't want a smelly squelch in their sandals.

The bins are well thought out. They even have a plastic bag dispenser for you to scoop up the stuff, though I wonder how long they will last out in the wild. The Mobil WC website is also worth a whirl, if only for their "English toilets" (Angol WC). Apparently we English will rest our posteriors on only the poshest of porcelain.

Update
Just read a story about Budapest spending $1 million on a special campaign to stamp out doggy do. Mind you, I spend most of my days trying not to stamp on it.

City officials estimate that Budapest's 400,000 dogs produce around 14,600 tonnes of dog waste each year, more than the weight of the Eiffel Tower and the London Eye combined.

All we need is a shocking artist to recreate full-size national monuments out of the crap on the streets and it would become a tourist attraction.