Exeter dog owner in 'pet cemetery' row

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Tuesday, February 09, 2010
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This is Exeter

CONCERNS have been raised after a resident allegedly witnessed  a neighbour hire a digger and  bury a dog on recreational land  near her garden.

Sarah Bradley claims that  Lesley Phillips, of Bourn Rise, Pinhoe, buried the greyhound in a  small field backing on to  nine  houses in the street.

The plot of land, which was left  over when the houses were built   almost 30 years ago, was included  in residents’ deeds.

They are all responsible for  maintaining and caring for the   land, which they can use for  recreational purposes.

Miss Bradley, whose garden  backs onto the field, said she   shocked that a digger was used to  bury a dog at the picturesque   site.

Miss Bradley said she approached Ms Phillips when she   realised there was a digger in the  field and that a huge hole had   been dug not far from her back  gate.

She said Ms Phillips had told  her she had  permission from the  landowner and that it was within  her rights  to bury her dog at the  site.

Miss Bradley, 36, said: “She  seems to think it is acceptable to  go  and do that.

“She has her own garden that  she could have buried her dog in.   She seems to have buried her dog  in  the furthest point away from  where she lives. Environmentally, it’s not the right thing to  do,  and I’m a bit shocked. It’s not a  huge piece of land.

“There are 20 of us in the deeds  of the property and what if we  all  had animals and all chose to bury  them there?

“She didn’t ask  any of us if it  would be okay to do it.

 “I don’t know how far down she  has buried the dog.

 “I think it is  unreasonable — I  am concerned anything could dig  the dog up.”

In a letter to neighbours calling  for their support, Miss Bradley   said: “What if we all had animals  and buried them there? What did   the dog die from?

 “Are we now accepting that the  recreational  ground be used as a  pet cemetery?”

She said she felt the dog should  either be cremated or buried on   Ms Phillip’s own property.

Ms Phillips is a member of the  charity Greyhound Rescue West   of England, which helps rehabilitate and rehouse dogs who  have been abandoned once their  racing days are over. She owns  two greyhounds, including a replacement for the dog  that died.

 A spokesman for Exeter City  Council’s environmental health   team confirmed there was no law  preventing people from burying   pets on private land.

 Ms Phillips declined to comment when approached by the   Echo.

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24 Comments

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    by Andrew Leckenby, bd19 4dr

    Thursday, February 11 2010, 4:48PM

    “SKoM I am sure the point Claire is trying to make is that soil by its very nature is composed of new, old and ancient decomposed matter not to mention faeces from a myriad of species, Animal Vegetable and Mineral in fact it is just plain 'dirty'”

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    by M. Greenwood, Barnstaple

    Thursday, February 11 2010, 4:45PM

    “Absolutely well said Andrew Leckenby. I know who i would rather have as a neighbour and that is Ms P! and her wonderful greyhounds that dont go swinging off trees and setting fire to things..
    Ruth you are a nasty piece of work as are all you others that have bullied Ms. P on here -karma will have its way with you. we reep what we sow - and you are sowing very bad seeds.”

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    by SKoM, Cullompton

    Thursday, February 11 2010, 4:15PM

    “Neither Claire, they generally get eaten by scavengers.

    Is this really 'common land'? Do the deeds grant shared ownership or merely shared maintenance with the ownership vested elsewhere - not a good arrangement.”

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    by Andrew Leckenby, yorks

    Thursday, February 11 2010, 4:03PM

    “Ruth, that shows how much you know about anything, dog license? maybe 25 years ago. As for the neighbours complaining about mrs.P trying to put out a bonfire, stopping fireworks and children ion swings, wtf, you moan about her burying an animal in a natural enviroment and what is more natural than Dust to Dust, but are angry because she doesn't want you to have a bonfire outside her house whilst you are playing with explosives and your offspring are terrorising the neighbourhood wrecking trees with swings??? Know who I would rather live next to. As for the dog poo, is MrsP the owner of every dog or animal in your area, or just the one you like to blame?”

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    by Ruth, Exeter

    Thursday, February 11 2010, 3:32PM

    “Claire from S Devon. I think you are missing the point. A dog is not a wild animal the owner has certain responsibilites that is why we have to have a dog licence. I am still concerned that a digger was needed to bury one dog, I am convinced there is more than one dog buried there.”

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    by Emma, Exeter

    Thursday, February 11 2010, 2:33PM

    “I don't think it is Ms P who is being BULLIED, sounds like the other way around! Cutting down ropes so that children can't play...now that is bullying. If she loved the dog so much she wouldn't have buried it the way she did and it would be on her own land. I assume Maria that you would be happy for Mrs P to leave dog poo outside your house for your children or grandchildren to step in?”

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    by claire, s.devon

    Thursday, February 11 2010, 2:23PM

    “Aren't people in this day and age sad what do they think happens to foxes.. badgers etc etc that die? Are they taken away by the cremation fairy or do they just rot and decompose where they fell, in woods and common land. From the sound of it the lady who buried her dog went about it in a very responsible manner getting a digger in to make sure it was buried deep enough, maybe she couldn't get the digger into her own garden?”

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    by Ruth, Exeter

    Thursday, February 11 2010, 12:52PM

    “If she loved this dog so much how come she didn't bury it in her own back yard, and what about her burying another dog a few years back behind the garages. My dog loves the beach maybe I should bury him there when he passes away. We shouldn't be allowed to bury anything any where other than on our own property.”

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    by Maria, exeter

    Thursday, February 11 2010, 10:45AM

    “Leslie sounds like a person who puts herself out to help these abused dogs - I think this lady should be left alone to grieve for her loss - how absolutely disgusting that she is being BULLIED at this very sad time - the people that have left negative comments should be ashamed of themselves.
    i dont blame her for not commenting - why should she buy into these people that live in their very narrow selfish minds - she obviously comes from a place of heart - if more people came into their hearts - the world would be a better place.”

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    by Ruth, Exeter

    Wednesday, February 10 2010, 4:56PM

    “Are we sure it is just one dog? I could bury a dog with just a shovel. A digger does seem over the top for one dog. Could there be more than one dog? Are the people sure it's a dog and not something else? Makes you wonder!!”

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