MY daughter lives on Lower Wyche Road in Malvern and sends me regular copies of the Malvern Gazette.

Although I rarely write letters to the press, I feel so exasperated at the petty minded obsession of some of your readers with dog excrement that I thought I should offer one or two thoughts.

Dogs have been man's companion since time immemorial; dogs provide security and comfort to millions; dogs do not pollute the environment to anything like the same extent as humans; dogs are not in a position to make choices about their lives; dogs are not petty minded and do not write pseudo-scientific letters to the press, dressing up their particular prejudices with flawed medical mumbo-jumbo.

Let us have an end to this debate. The mind of a bigot is like the iris of an eye. The more light you shed upon it the tighter it closes.

DR P TILL, Penny Lane, Sudbury, Suffolk.