Glasgow family's plea after grave 'used as dog toilet'

The Summerston resident has been visiting Lambhill Cemetery with her father almost daily since the spring of 2021, when her mother died.

On at least three occasions, she had to clean dog foul off the family grave.

Lambhill Cemetery gates (Image: Colin Mearns, Newsquest)

READ NEXT: Glasgow man 'disgusted' at fly-tipping in local cemetery

She said: “The level of disrespect someone needs to have to let their pet defecate on someone’s resting place makes me lost for words.

“Surely, this must be one of the most respected places in society.

“We notice it constantly, every time.

“At first, we were so shocked because there were mourners there, many more apart from us.

“The more we saw it, we became increasingly appalled and upset because we couldn’t believe what we were seeing.

“It’s heartbreaking."

Councillor O'Neill (Image: Gordon Terris, Newsquest)

Noticing the number of people who were walking their dogs on the grounds and failing to clean up after them, she flagged the issue to local councillor Kieran O'Neill.

He said: "I have been contacted by a number of constituents who are distraught about memorials to their loved ones being covered in dog muck and urine.

"Neighbouring councils have clearer policies to prevent this from happening and sadly it feels like Glasgow is out of step with this."

The woman also wrote to the council and took it upon herself to try and deter owners from allowing the act to happen.

She said: “One time a big dog came over to us at my mum’s grave, very playful and jumping on us and urinated all over the flowers.

“So, we said to the owner and we were met with aggression and verbal abuse.

“Many times we can see the act taking place on other graves as well.

“Even if the dogs are on a lead, the people are standing holding it and watching the dog urinate of fresh flowers, fresh graves."

The frequency of the activity has deeply upset the daughter and even made her reconsider her place in the close-knit area.

She said: “Our hearts just sank because this is our community, we regard it as a peaceful, friendly place and we are left quite disillusioned because everyone we thought was a neighbour is just using the cemetery as a dog toilet.

“It really made us question the morality of where we live.

“It’s horrible."

A Glasgow City Council spokesperson said: “It is completely unacceptable to commit acts of anti-social behaviour in a place of mourning and remembrance.

“Failing to pick up after a dog in your care is blatant anti-social behaviour.

“Everyone knows you must pick after your dog and so we fully share the frustration expressed by the local resident.

“Dog fouling incidents can be reported to us and that can help us target resources to deal with the issue."