SIR – Regarding your reader’s letter about dog mess (T&A, January 8), this is not a pleasant subject, but every single one of God’s creatures defecates. That’s just the way it is.

Indeed, the very earth upon which we walk is, to a greater degree than we would like, the accumulation of umpteen eons of sundry defecations.

For most of us, dogs are the only creatures whose doings we can usually see, and so avoid it if we want to.

It’s not a pleasant sight and dog owners who don’t take it away should be castigated. If people don’t clear it up, it is normally there to be seen, unlike that of all the other species.

Your correspondent should appreciate that when he successfully arrives home, having avoided the dog muck, other brown stuff that he might have accumulated is not necessarily all harmless either.

John Wilson, New Road Side, Horsforth, Leeds