Strange New Creatures

Recently I’ve been seeing an increasing number of strange creatures that I never saw as a kid. I first saw them several years ago when I was living in London near Wimbledon Common. Just the odd one here and there. They seem to be shy creatures. Back then it was just the odd one here and there, often partially hidden in a bush or a ditch.

Here in Lyme Regis, I’ve started to become more and more aware of these weird creatures, and I’m certain they are increasing in numbers. So far, I’ve seen black, green, blue and brown ones. I’ve seen them in rivers and streams and even up in the bushes where they hang motionless as I’ve passed by.

I’ve heard wild theories that they are actually dog poo bags that have been discarded by dog owners on walks. But, come on, that’s ludicrous. Firstly, surely nobody knowingly leaves dog poo around in this day and age?

There’s been plenty of advertising encouraging people to dispose bags into bins or take them home. We all know the potential for kids to be blinded by a parasitic worm called toxocariasis that is passed on by the eggs in dog faeces. Not to mention the danger to cattle from grazing where there’s dog poo infected with the parasite Neospora caninum, which can cause them to abort.

Nobody in their right mind would leave dog poo around, right? And nobody is going to leave plastic bags in the countryside either. So, the idea that people would deliberately go to the trouble of bagging their dog’s waste in specially designed plastic bags, then dropping it in rivers and gateways or even throwing it into the branches of a tree just doesn’t wash.

Get real.
No, nobody is going to bag up dog poo just to leave it in the countryside.
Are they?