Village returns left-behind dog doo to pet owners

BRUNETE, Spain, June 4 (UPI) -- Officials in a Spanish village said volunteers have been returning a special kind of "lost property" to locals -- their uncollected dog droppings.

A representative for the Brunete village council said a team of about 20 volunteers are being utilized to keep an eye on dog walkers and collect any left-behind dog poop to be later returned to the pet owners at their homes as "lost property," thinkSPAIN reported Tuesday.

The representative said several of the deliveries were recorded via hidden cameras.

The amount of "lost" dog messes in the village had reduced by 70 percent since the program began, officials said.

"We're not sure whether that's because they're more afraid of getting their dogs' excrement delivered back to them than of being fined," the council representative said. "In general, the campaign has been well-accepted, although a lot of people have called for designated areas to be set up where dogs can do their 'bits and bobs' -- like everything, there are opinions for all tastes."