the framed sign glazed with perspex reads: "AN APPEAL TO DOG OWNERS
THIS SANDPIT IS AN EXPERIMENTAL DOG TOILET CONSTRUCTED WITH THE HOPE THAT USAGE MAY REDUCE THE UNPLEASANT AND UNHEALTHY FOULING OF PATHWAYS AND GRASS AREAS BY DOGS. THE PIT WILL BE CLEARED REGULARLY.
PLEASE TRY TO ENCOURAGE AND TRAIN YOUR PETS TO USE THIS TOILET
THANK YOU, LAMBETH BRIDGE HSE. S. E.1.
..R. HARE BAILIFF OF THE
ROYAL PARKS

Whilst of a fairly unsavoury nature, perhaps humorous, this sign is very much of its day and shows a shift in public mood. It was evidently at the cutting edge of what had become a significant urban problem that was on everyone’s mind, if not regularly on their shoes. And “R.Hare”, Bailiff of the Royal Parks was prepared to put his name to this “Experimental” solution.

LASSCO salvaged the sign from a greenhouse in Buckinghamshire but The Appeal Notice would have been positioned at the area of green grass and pavement on the south bank of Lambeth Bridge where tourists and television journalists alike tend to stand and photograph the Palace of Westminster. The area has been significantly remodelled since this sign was there and a shift attitudes towards dog poo, and responsible pet ownership, have thankfully rendered the sign and the toilet facility (mostly) redundant.