ANOTHER Brighton dog has been injured by overgrown weeds, with barley grass seeds – flea darts – the culprit.

The latest victim is Molly, a rescue dog from Westdene, who now wears a dog snood to protect her ears.

Her owner Adam Page bought the snood after taking Molly to the vet to remove a seed spear which became embedded in her ear after a walk around the streets of Withdean and Westdene.

Mr Page saw the story of Lily, the puppy from Woodingdean, whose owner spend hundreds of pounds on vet fees removing seeds from her paws.

In Molly’s case, it cost £300 to remove a barley grass seed from her ear because Coastway Vets, in Portslade, had to sedate her to removing it.

 

Molly injured dog in snood

Molly injured dog in snood

 

Mr Page said: “She was crying and shaking her head in pain. It was horrible to see.

“It happened on a road around where we live in Withdean/Westdene. Walking around the roads, these seeds are everywhere. And grass verges have not been cut, with weeds over the pavement and verges. It looks just awful.

“When it rains, the pavements become slippery. We never thought we would have to buy her a dog snood to cover her ears.

“After each walk, we have to double-check her ears and pull seed out of her fur and paws.”

 

Westdene barley grass

Westdene barley grass

 

Brighton and Hove City Council said that it had tried to recruit 28 seasonal staff to tackle the weeding but received few applications.

Green councillor Steve Davis, who represents Withdean ward, said last month that Brexit was to blame for recruitment issues, with hospitality, transport and the NHS also suffering.

He said: “Roughly 1.4 million EU citizens have left this country – and they’re never coming back.

“These people mow our verges, stack our shelves and look after our elderly citizens in care homes. It is a real struggle with recruitment.”

It is the third summer that pavement weeds have become an issue after councillors voted to stop using glyphosate weedkiller, sold commercially as Roundup, in 2019.

The council said that two teams of contractors had been focusing on weed removal while further efforts were made to recruit permanent workers.

Council leader Phélim Mac Cafferty also said last month that council workers were using new low-vibration trimmers.

And, he added, staff at Cityclean, the council’s rubbish and recycling service, had been offered overtime to focus on weeding.