A clever recycling dog has been amazing shoppers in her neighborhood by going around tidying up litter and placing it in the bin.
The five-year-old pooch named Millie is helping to keep the streets of Hereford, England, clean with her 80-year-old owner Alfie Kitson.
Kitson only has to point at a discarded bit of rubbish on the floor and say, “put that in the bin,” and Spanish Podenco Millie duly obliges.
She was taught the trick while living in Spain with Kitson and wife Judith, 75, and has been putting her skills to good use since moving back to the U.K. 18 months ago.
Millie can now regularly be seen helping to keep the city center spotless with her litter-picking antics as she cleans up after humans who fail to dispose of their trash.
Kitson, an ex-plumber from Ullingswick, Herefordshire, told SWNS, “Millie is a very intelligent dog and seems to enjoy her little party trick.
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“A few people ask me why I do it, but I enjoy it, and so does Millie, plus it’s helping keep the city clean and tidy, which is our little good deed,” he added. “All I have to say is ‘put that litter in the bin,’ and she will pick it up and do it. Passers-by seem to love it, and she always gets a little round of applause.”
Kitson taught Millie the trick after rescuing her from a shelter in Spain, where he and his family lived for 20 years.
Millie was just eight months old when she was found abandoned in a rubbish bag tied to a tree branch.
After giving her a new home, Kitson later spotted a soldier and his dog doing the trick in a park in Malaga and set about trying to get Millie to do the same.
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He began putting a box, of similar size to a public bin, in their Spanish garden, and bit by bit, he raised its height as she understood to drop things in the box. And luckily, the bins in Hereford were just the right size for Millie to showcase her talent when she moved to Britain.
“Obviously, environmental concerns are a hot topic at the moment, so if we can help clear up rubbish and plastic off the street, then we’re doing our bit to help,” Kitson said. “We rescued her because our house felt empty without an animal. Dogs and cats are a big part of anyone’s life that loves animals.”
“She isn’t just part of the family, she is the family, and we are glad we can show her off to others as she really is an amazing dog,” the proud owner added.
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Hereford office worker Samuel Tiler, 45, regularly spots Millie working her magic in the city center.
“The first time I saw her do it, I thought I might be going mad. I thought, ‘Is that really a dog tidying up people’s litter?'” he said of the pup.
“I just wish people could be more thoughtful as it shouldn’t take a dog to clear up after them,” Tiler added. “If you’ve got a dog doing their little part for the environment — surely we can do the same.”