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Abby dogs get Chilliwack roof over their heads

The Chilliwack dog pound will soon be making arrangements to shelter a few more rescued pooches under its roof.

The local pound will soon be making arrangements to shelter a few more rescued pooches under its roof.

City of Chilliwack has agreed to help out City of Abbotsford by boarding its dogs at the local animal control facility on Wolfe Road.

"There is room at our pound for this, and we are happy to make this arrangement to assist Abbotsford," said Mayor Sharon Gaetz.

Based on the proposed numbers provided by Abbotsford officials, the local facility will have the capacity to house both Abbotsford’s and Chilliwack’s dogs on a short-term basis.

"There will be no temporary hardships and the operation of the pound will continue as normal, with the care and well being of the dogs being of utmost importance," she added.

The capacity of the Chilliwack facility is 24 kennels with most kennels housing one dog, however if the dogs are puppies or smaller dogs that have come in together they can potentially be housed in the same kennel as the kennels are quite large.

The shelter deal will be on a temporary basis starting next month.

Abbotsford's contract with its current service provider expires on Jan. 31.

Council gave introduction and three readings on the motion to accept dogs from Abbotsford for a maximum of 12 months, at a flat rate of $4,000 per month.

"We had to be careful and considered the taxpayers in this. We're getting full cost recovery and a little bit more," the mayor said.

There've been some discussions lately about FVRD establishing a regional animal control facility for Abbotsford, Chilliwack and other small communities, and the shelter agreement could be an interim measure until that comes to fruition.

Staff at both city halls are working together to draft a service contract or memorandum of understanding.

Council asked for staff to report back on the matter in a month’s time.

jfeinberg@theprogress.com



Jennifer Feinberg

About the Author: Jennifer Feinberg

I have been a Chilliwack Progress reporter for 20+ years, covering the arts, city hall, as well as Indigenous, and climate change stories.
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