Headlines from the past is a recurring feature looking back at stories we've covered over the past 40+ years.
As Coquitlam council pondered a plan to cancel the city’s contract with the SPCA and start its own independent animal shelter in November 2000, workers, volunteers and donors of the existing facility said they wouldn’t skulk off with their tail between their legs.
“I think it’s a decision that council should re-consider,” said Mike Dumler, the national representative for CUPE, the union representing the SPCA shelter’s workers.
“We are not so sure what is the driven force behind the cancellation.”
But Coun. Mae Reid said the city had heard a number of complaints about the SPCA’s facility on Pipeline Road.
“There are two sides to every story,” she said.
One SPCA officer said the city wasn’t considering the important role the non-profit’s constables play in rescuing animals and attending to emergencies like dogs suffering in a locked car.
“Municipal animal control officers don’t have the same scope as SPCA constables,” he said.
While Lawson agreed the Pipeline Road shelter was substandard, he said the SPCA was already fundraising for a new regional facility that could serve neighbouring communities like Port Moody, Port Coquitlam, Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows as well.
Alas, a week later those plans were dead after Coquitlam councillors voted 6-3 to begin planning for a new municipal shelter on Mariner Way.
The Tri-City News has covered civic affairs, local crime, festivals, events, personalities, sports and arts in Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam and Port Moody since 1983. Bound back issues of the paper are available at the Coquitlam Archives, while digital versions of several past years can be found at issuu.com.
