A decision about a Doggy Day Care for Weyburn was put on hold for two weeks, following a request for approval by Cindy Ann Boehm at the March 26 council meeting.
The day care for canines was proposed to be located in a contractor shop at 225 First Avenue SW, which is zoned light industrial. An objection was received by a resident next door, who expressed a concern of the effect on the value of the residential property from having a dog day care next door to them.
This led to a list of conditions if the city were to approve this proposal, and Boehm told council she could not live with a number of those conditions, such as the hours of operation. She also noted the dogs would not be kept there overnight.
The conditions suggested by the city said operations had to be between the hours of 9 a.m. to 10 p.m., but Boehm said the hours she would need was 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., as dog owners would drop off their canines before work, and she could not wait until 9 a.m. to allow them to go outside.
Boehm explained the proposal is to set up play equipment for dogs, such as is used in training dogs, so they can run and play but in an indoor park setting, along with use of the yard area for the dogs to go to the bathroom or to play, with the idea to have space for up to 30 dogs. She wants to have a staging area where a dog owner can bring the dog to so it can be assessed initially.
Besides the residence just east of the shop, the Weyburn trailer court is just south of the area as well, council was told.
Coun. Jeff Richards asked if a trial period was needed, and commented, “I’ve heard 30 dogs barking before, and I most assuredly would not want that in my back yard.”
“It’s a different atmosphere,” responded Boehm. “When they get playing, there might be some noise, but I can’t see it being anything like the Humane Society. They’ll be playing with each other and not barking at each other.”
As police chief Marlo Pritchard was present in the council chambers, he was asked if the city’s bylaw on noise violations has a time element to it, and if it would apply to a business.
Chief Pritchard said while there is time specified for noise, the bylaw allows charges to be laid anytime of the day if it’s determined there was a disturbance to others.
Coun. Brad Wheeler noted he used a Doggy Day Care in Alberta, and said the atmosphere is not as noisy as when dogs are penned up such as at the Humane Society, but he found the visit to the day care “a pleasant experience”.
“I think Weyburn needs something like this,” he added.
Coun. Mel Van Betuw said he might support this proposal if it was for a one-year trial period, but Boehm pointed out this would be unfair to her, considering the outlay required to get the equipment, and to the owner of the shop.
She asked council if there was a different location she could set up in if this shop’s location was not going to work for this day care.
“In Regina and Saskatoon, the doggy day cares were more in an industrial area, although the one in Saskatoon backs onto a hotel,” she added.
“This concept is a great one for the city, but maybe there’s another location around Weyburn. Because of the residence at this location, it’s not going to work,” said Coun. Dick Michel.
Council decided to defer a decision on this proposal until the next council meeting on Monday, April 9, to allow Boehm to have further discussions with city staff, and to look into whether this location will work or if another one would be better.
