Cramahe to look at dog control solutions

The old bugaboo of animal control was back on the table at Cramahe Council on August 11.

The township’s contracts with Shelter of Hope and animal collector, Richard Lamoureux expire at the end of the year and township By-law officer, Jim Harris, was looking for direction. The current two-year deal with the animal collector is costing the township $10,000 a year, but does not fill all the township needs.

Deputy Mayor Jim Williams would like to see the contractor collect strays that are running loose. Currently he comes to collect the dog only if it has been caught. As far as Deputy Mayor Williams is concerned the township is paying something for a service which does not enforce the municipal bylaws.

Councillor Ed Van Egmond says that's because Mr. Lamoureux lives so far to the east of Cramahe that he'd never get here in time to catch the dog."He gets the ones I babysit," joked the councillor.

The contract with the Shelter of Hope is for housing the animals once they have been picked up by Mr.Lamoureux.

The Shelter of Hope is not interested in taking on the entire contract, which left Mr. Harris with one other option to present in his written report.

The township could band with the Municipality of Brighton on the east and Trent Hills on the north and create its own shelter. Mr. Harris admitted this option would be more expensive than the current one.

Councillor Van Egmond says he's been talking to people in the community to see if another option is feasible. The problem, as he sees it, is that animal welfare is closely governed, much like abatoirs. It's difficult for anyone to make money. He thinks the best alternative now is to stay with what we have.

Council decided to have Mr. Harris look into the options and report back at the September 15 meeting.

A county-wide operation is not in the cards now, according to Mayor Marc Coombs.