JAKE the golden retriever has set the fur flying among civic leaders in Watchet who have seen red over the canine grooming habits of his owner. Newsagent Julie Jones was still seething this week over the contents of a letter from the town council, accusing her of shaving her dogs on the memorial ground. The letter, which followed a complaint from a local resident, claimed the "piles" of dog hair left behind in an amenity area used by children and adults were both unsightly and dangerous. But she is furious at the allegations and a further suggestion that she fails to clean up her dogs' faeces. Now she is demanding a written apology from the authority, warning that unless she receives one she will consider taking legal action. Mrs Jones, who has three other dogs in addition to Jake and runs Harbour News in Swain Street with her husband Terry, told the Free Press: "I would have to have a very long electric flex to shave anything on the memorial ground. "I was in fact combing Jake for the first and only time on the field. I had just bathed him and it was a nice afternoon so I thought I would go up and watch the cricket while I groomed him. "I'm not denying there was quite a lot of hair but to say it was dangerous is just ridiculous. "This is a natural and bio-degradable substance, which is carried away by the wind and wildlife, who use it for nesting. "The council would be better employed dealing with other more dangerous articles, which I and other dog walkers have removed on many Sunday mornings, such as empty and broken bottles and even syringes, which we've found scattered in and around the pavilion and also outside the football club. "As far as I am aware there is no law against grooming your dog in public." Mrs Jones, who has lived in Watchet for more than four years, said she took umbrage at the suggestion that she failed to clear up her dogs' faeces. "I always carry a pocketful of nappy sacks and clean up after them. "Perhaps the council could address the problem of stray dogs roaming the town, being a menace and defecating at will. "It has been reported to the council on more than one occasion by various people but nothing has been done." Mrs Jones said most of the people who saw her grooming the dog were simply fascinated by what she was doing. But one man told her he was going to report her and later came into her shop to say he had done so. "I thought the council would laugh him out of the door and I couldn't believe it when the letter arrived a couple of weeks later. "If I had been approached in a civil manner about it, it would have been a different manner - I don't want to offend anyone and I would have simply made sure that I didn't groom Jake or any of the dogs on the field again. "But I am furious that the council appears not to have fully investigated the matter but seems to have just accepted what the complainant said." The letter, which was signed by the council's finance officer Sue Upstone on behalf of clerk Sarah Reed, claims that Mrs Jones has been seen shaving her dogs "on several occasions" and that she had a duty of care to clean up the hair left behind. It went on to say that at present dogs were allowed to wander freely on all areas of the memorial ground, except for the tennis courts, multi-use court and the children's play area. But it warned that if dog owners persistently ignored the health hazards and legal implications - it is an offence to leave dog faeces on the ground - then the council would have to review its policy on the use of the memorial ground for exercising dogs. Cllr Paul Chamberlain, who chairs the council's tourism and leisure committee, which is responsible for the memorial ground and other amenity areas in the town, said he had been unaware the letter had been sent to Mrs Jones. "This does need addressing urgently and I am hoping we will be able to do this at the first opportunity, which will be the full council meeting on Monday night." Photo: Steve Guscott