I wholeheartedly agree with Elaine Marchant about the anti-dog feeling in Brighton and Hove (Letters, October 16). I am also a responsible dog-owner and would say almost everyone I meet who owns a dog behaves similarly, cleaning up after their pets and keeping them under control.

Sadly, however, there are those who bring us all a bad name.

I frequently find dog mess in my street, on the beach and on the lawns and, occasionally, I have to ask an owner to call their off-lead dog because it is worrying us. These people should be made to abide by the law and the public should be vigilant and report those who do not.

We might help this process a little more, though. There are few dog bins and one in my "patch" has had a broken lid for more than a year. On a recent visit to New York, we were also very impressed with the "dog run" in Washington Square Park - these are available in open spaces all over the city. They are fenced-off safe areas where owners may excercise their dogs off-lead, without being a nuisance to anyone else. They are sociable places and self-regulating.

We live in a similarly urban environment and providing this simple facility would suit everyone. How about it, Brighton and Hove City Council?

-Julie Cully, Median Villas, Hove