PICK OF THE LITTER: Clever dog can pick up and throw away trash

By Adam Dutton and Hattie Young via SWNS

A clever recycling dog has been amazing shoppers on a high street by going around tidying up LITTER and placing it in the bin.

Adorable footage shows 5-year-old pooch Millie helping to keep the streets of Hereford clean with her 80-year-old owner Alfie Kitson.

Alfie 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 Alfie and wife Judith, 75, and has been putting her skills to good use since moving back to the UK 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 lazy humans who fail to dispose of their trash.

"Millie is a very intelligent dog and seems to enjoy her little party trick," said Kitson.

“A few people ask me why I do it but I enjoy it and so does Millie, plus it's helping keeping the city clean and tidy which is our little good deed.

“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.

"She makes a real fuss of it and seems to love the limelight - it's incredible to see all these people enjoy what we're doing.

"She plays up to the audience, and so do I, if I'm honest."

Kitson, a dad of three, taught Millie the trick after rescuing her from a shelter in Spain, where he lived with his wife for 20 years.

Millie was just 8 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.

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.

Kitson said he would walk Millie in local parks – where he found his inspiration - while wife Judith was in hospital in Malaga.

He added: “There were lots of lovely parks in Spain.

"I was in this beautiful park and I saw this soldier and his dog, and he was walking around telling his dog to pick up this litter.

“I thought that was clever. And Millie has always been an intelligent dog so I thought why not try and get her to the same.

"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.

"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."

Hereford office worker Samuel Tiler, 45, regularly spots Millie working her magic in the city centre.

"The first time I saw her do it, I thought I might be going mad," said Tiler. "I thought 'is that really a dog tidying up people's litter?'"

"It really is remarkable what she can do and I've seen her a couple of times since and it never fails to amaze me.

"I just wish people could be more thoughtful as it shouldn't take a dog to clear up after them.

"If you've got a dog doing their little part for the environment - surely we can do the same."