Crufts buzz for Ottery Dogs

OTTERY got its first community dog bin last weekend, as the work of the group who secured it was a hot topic Crufts.

OTTERY got its first community dog bin last weekend, as the work of the group who secured it was a hot topic Crufts.

Ottery Dogs has bagged two new bins for the town and celebrated the 'opening' of one on the "factory side" of the Millennium Green on Saturday with a clear message to residents:

"This bin belongs to you, use it and help us to keep our town clean"

The deeds of Ottery's award winning, champions of responsible pet-ownership was a hot-topic at the world's biggest dog-show, Crufts, according to a business owner from the town.

Billie Ivey, 52, who owns Purely in Broad Street, was surprised by the "amazing" reaction the Ottery St Mary address on her business card got from traders at the event held in Birmingham's NEC arena last week.

She said: "When they (traders) saw who I was they would say 'oh you must do very well being such a dog-loving place'. It's the biggest dog show in the world and it was amazing they'd heard of us. For Ottery Dogs to be promoting the town as a place is absolutely fantastic."

The group, who scooped the Kennel Club's campaigner of the year award earlier this year, were joined by town councillor Joy Richardson on Saturday to canvass opinions over where a second dog-bin should be situated.

The consultation will run for another week and suggestions can be made in the Ottery Office and Computer store after its owners forked out the cash to cover its costs.

Ottery Town Council will have the final say as to where this bin will be sited.

An Ottery Dogs spokeswoman said: "We are hoping to do further consultation and secure a bin for the top of Ridgeway in the near future and also areas around Longdogs Lane, near to the Primary School.