GB2172485A

GB2172485A - Device for catching animal excrement

Info

Publication number: GB2172485A
Application number: GB08506437A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Florence Harriet Brooks
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1985-03-13
Filing date: 1985-03-13
Publication date: 1986-09-24
Also published as: GB8506437D0; GB2172485B

Abstract

A device for catching animal excrement, particularly for fitting to a dog, comprises a harness (11) and a receptacle (12) supported thereby. The harness is adapted to support the receptacle at the hind quarters of the animal so as to catch excrement as it is eliminated by the animal. The harness comprises a girdle (14), a stiff ring (16) having a tail loop (18) to pass over the tail of the animal and assist in locating the ring at the hindquarters of the animal, and straps (22) holding the ring to the girdle. A disposable waterproof soil bag (24) with an elasticated mouth is a stretch fit over the ring. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Device for catching animal excrement This invention relates to a device for catching animal excrement. The device can ba adapted for use with many animals, but is generally envisaged as being applicabletofour-legged animals, particularly domestic animals and especially dogs.

There is much concern aboutthe occurrence of animal excrement in public places, such as on footways and in public open spaces, and about the resultant hazard to public health and hygiene.

Dog owners in particular have a problem in exercising their pets while avoiding foulding the places that they visit. While a conscientious owner may carry a scoop or the like to gather up any such excrement, there will almost inevitably be residues left behind.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved manner of meeting this problem.

According to the invention there is provided a device for catching animal excrement, comprising a harness for the animal and a receptacle supported thereby, the harness being adapted to support the receptacle when fitted to an animal at the hindquarters of the animal so asto catch excrement as it is eliminated bythe animal.

Preferably the receptacle can be readily attached to and removed from the harness.

A suitable form of harness includes a stiff ring which, when the harness is fitted to an animal, extends around the anal opening ofthe animal, the receptacle having an open mouth supported on the ring. The receptacle may bea stretch fit on the ring.

The ring may be manually deformable to enable its conformation to be adapted to the shape ofthe hindquarters of the particular animal to which the device is being fitted.

In a form of harness suitable for a tailed animal such as the majority of dogs, a tail loop is provided on the ring which is adapted to locatethe ring in position on the animal when the tail loop passes overthe animal's tail. The tail loop may be stiff but manually deformable to enable its conformation to be adapted to the thickness ofthe animal's tail.

The ring and tail loop may be continuous and together form a single endless member.

The receptacle is preferably provided with an elastic mouth and is attachable to and detachable from the ring by expanding the mouth ofthe receptacle and passing itoverthe ring.Alternativelythe mouth of the receptacle may be securable to the ring by draw cord or other suitable means. When the ring carries a tail loop, the receptacle may be provided with an aperture behind the mouth to permitthe tail loop to extend out ofthe receptaclethrough the aperture when the receptacle is fitted to the ring.

An embodimentofthe invention is illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 illustrates the device fitted to a dog; Figure 2 is a perspective view ofthe device with the receptacle separated from the harness.

As shown in the drawings, the device comprises a harness 11 and a removable and disposable receptacle 12 carried thereby.

The harness 11 comprises a girdle 14and a ring 16 which is continuous with a tail loop 18, andfourstraps 20 each extending between, and connecting, the girdle and the ring.

Thesingleendlessmemberformedbythering 16 and tail loop 18 is formed by a wire frame with a padded cover. The cover is preferably waterproof or substantially waterproof and may for example be of plastics material orofleather.

The girdle 14, and each strap 20, is provided with a buckle 22 for adjusting the length ofthe respective girdle or strap to fit a particular animal. The girdle and straps may be of any suitable material such as webbing or leather.

The receptacle 12 comprises a waterproof plastics soil bag 24 with an elastic drawstring 26 in the mouth ofthe bag. A slit 28 is provided in the neck of the bag behind the mouth to enable the bag to be fitted to the harness by passing the elastic portion ofthe bag mouth overthe tail loop 18, so that the tail loop extends out ofthe bag through the slit 28, and then expanding the elastic mouth of the bag and passing it overthe ring 16, so that the bag is a stretch fit on the ring.

The device can be fitted to an animal, for example to a dog as shown in Figure 1, by unfastening such buckles 22 as may be necessary, passing the animal's tail through the tail loop with the bag supported on the ring at the hindquarters ofthe animal belowthetail, buckling the girdle around the animal's body forward ofthe hind legs, and adjusting all buckles to fitthe harness securely to the animal.

The ring 16 and tail loop 18 are stiff but manually deformable, so that each can be shaped as necessary to adapt its conformation to the shape of the animal's hindquarters, or the thickness of its tail, respectively.

The ring carrying the soil bag can accordingly be reliably held around the anal opening ofthe animal, with little inconvenience to the animal, so asto catch excrement as it is eliminated by the animal.

When excrement has been passed by the animal, it is a simple matter two remove the soil bag containing the excrement from the harness and dispose of it safely and hygienically.

1. Adeviceforcatching animal excrement,com- prising a harnessforthe animal and a receptacle supported thereby, the harness being adapted to supportthe receptacle when fitted to an animal atthe hindquarters ofthe animal so as to catch excrement as itiseliminatedbytheanimal.

2. A device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the receptacle can be readily attached to and removed from the harness.

3. A device as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the harness includes a stiff ring which, when the harness is fitted to an animal, extends around the anal opening ofthe animal, andthe receptacle has an The drawings originally filed were informal and the print here reproduced is taken from a later filed formal copy.

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. SPECIFICATION Device for catching animal excrement This invention relates to a device for catching animal excrement. The device can ba adapted for use with many animals, but is generally envisaged as being applicabletofour-legged animals, particularly domestic animals and especially dogs. There is much concern aboutthe occurrence of animal excrement in public places, such as on footways and in public open spaces, and about the resultant hazard to public health and hygiene. Dog owners in particular have a problem in exercising their pets while avoiding foulding the places that they visit. While a conscientious owner may carry a scoop or the like to gather up any such excrement, there will almost inevitably be residues left behind. It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved manner of meeting this problem. According to the invention there is provided a device for catching animal excrement, comprising a harness for the animal and a receptacle supported thereby, the harness being adapted to support the receptacle when fitted to an animal at the hindquarters of the animal so asto catch excrement as it is eliminated bythe animal. Preferably the receptacle can be readily attached to and removed from the harness. A suitable form of harness includes a stiff ring which, when the harness is fitted to an animal, extends around the anal opening ofthe animal, the receptacle having an open mouth supported on the ring. The receptacle may bea stretch fit on the ring. The ring may be manually deformable to enable its conformation to be adapted to the shape ofthe hindquarters of the particular animal to which the device is being fitted. In a form of harness suitable for a tailed animal such as the majority of dogs, a tail loop is provided on the ring which is adapted to locatethe ring in position on the animal when the tail loop passes overthe animal's tail. The tail loop may be stiff but manually deformable to enable its conformation to be adapted to the thickness ofthe animal's tail. The ring and tail loop may be continuous and together form a single endless member. The receptacle is preferably provided with an elastic mouth and is attachable to and detachable from the ring by expanding the mouth ofthe receptacle and passing itoverthe ring.Alternativelythe mouth of the receptacle may be securable to the ring by draw cord or other suitable means. When the ring carries a tail loop, the receptacle may be provided with an aperture behind the mouth to permitthe tail loop to extend out ofthe receptaclethrough the aperture when the receptacle is fitted to the ring. An embodimentofthe invention is illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 illustrates the device fitted to a dog; Figure 2 is a perspective view ofthe device with the receptacle separated from the harness. As shown in the drawings, the device comprises a harness 11 and a removable and disposable receptacle 12 carried thereby. The harness 11 comprises a girdle 14and a ring 16 which is continuous with a tail loop 18, andfourstraps 20 each extending between, and connecting, the girdle and the ring. Thesingleendlessmemberformedbythering 16 and tail loop 18 is formed by a wire frame with a padded cover. The cover is preferably waterproof or substantially waterproof and may for example be of plastics material orofleather. The girdle 14, and each strap 20, is provided with a buckle 22 for adjusting the length ofthe respective girdle or strap to fit a particular animal. The girdle and straps may be of any suitable material such as webbing or leather. The receptacle 12 comprises a waterproof plastics soil bag 24 with an elastic drawstring 26 in the mouth ofthe bag. A slit 28 is provided in the neck of the bag behind the mouth to enable the bag to be fitted to the harness by passing the elastic portion ofthe bag mouth overthe tail loop 18, so that the tail loop extends out ofthe bag through the slit 28, and then expanding the elastic mouth of the bag and passing it overthe ring 16, so that the bag is a stretch fit on the ring. The device can be fitted to an animal, for example to a dog as shown in Figure 1, by unfastening such buckles 22 as may be necessary, passing the animal's tail through the tail loop with the bag supported on the ring at the hindquarters ofthe animal belowthetail, buckling the girdle around the animal's body forward ofthe hind legs, and adjusting all buckles to fitthe harness securely to the animal. The ring 16 and tail loop 18 are stiff but manually deformable, so that each can be shaped as necessary to adapt its conformation to the shape of the animal's hindquarters, or the thickness of its tail, respectively. The ring carrying the soil bag can accordingly be reliably held around the anal opening ofthe animal, with little inconvenience to the animal, so asto catch excrement as it is eliminated by the animal. When excrement has been passed by the animal, it is a simple matter two remove the soil bag containing the excrement from the harness and dispose of it safely and hygienically. CLAIMS

open mouth supported on the ring.

4. A device as claimed in claim 3, wherein the receptacle is a stretch fit on the ring.

5. A device as claimed in claim 3 or claim 4, wherein the ring is manually deformableto adapt its conformationto the shape ofthe animal hindquarters.

6. A device as claimed in any one of claims 3 to 5 for a tailed animal, wherein the harness includes a tail loop on the ring adapted to locate the ring in position on the animal when the tail loop passes over the tail of the animal.

7. A device as claimed in claim 6, wherein the tail loop is stiff but manually deformable to adapt its conformation to the thickness of the tail of the animal.

8. A device as claimed in claim 6 or claim 7, wherein the ring and tail loop are continuous and togetherform a single endless member.

9. A device as claimed in any one of claims 3 to 8, wherein the ring and/orthetail loop comprise a wire frame with a padded cover.

10. A device as claimed in any one ofclaims 3 to 9, wherein the receptacle has an elastic mouth and is attachableto and detachable from the ring by expanding the mouth ofthe receptacle and passing it overthe ring.

11. A device as claimed in claim 10 when dependant upon claim 6, wherein the receptacle is provided with an aperture behind the elastic mouth to permit the tail loop to extend out ofthe receptacle through the aperture when the receptacle is fitted to the ring.

12. A device as claimed in any one ofthe preceding claims, wherein the receptacle is a waterproof bag.

13. Adeviceasciaimedin anyoneofclaims3to 12, wherein the harness comprises a girdle and straps extending between the girdle and the ring.

14. Adeviceasclaimed inclaim 13,whereinthe girdle and/orthe straps are adjustabie in length.

15. A device as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, adapted to fit a dog.

16. Adeviceforcatching animalexcrementsub- stantiallyas herein described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.