The three-dog household debate should fizzle soon, but City council still had two more cases to deal with Tuesday.
Angela Rigby told council she had two dogs of her own, then her daughter moved back to Kamloops from Vancouver and brought a third dog with her.
Her daughter is looking for work and will be moving out on her own when everything lines up, she said. One of Rigby's dogs is 12 years old and is in failing health, so the three-dog situation might not last long.
Council noted they'd had no complaints about her dogs and there was a solution in the making.
The Rudge family on Foxwood Lane moved to Kamloops from Saanich last summer and brought their three dogs — two of them SPCA rescue dogs — with them.
In Saanich, Peter Rudge told council, they were allowed up to five dogs. They didn't know about the limit here.
Rudge said they're responsible dog owners and the one that has the most resonant bark, a coonhound cross, wears a collar that beeps when she gets too loud.
He has fenced the entire property and often takes one of the dogs with him when he's working out in the field.
While there was one letter of opposition to the family's application, it was pointed out to council that there are several other dogs in the immediate area — figuring out which dogs are barking during the day could be difficult.
Coun. Pat Wallace noted two of the dogs were rescues and Rudge seemed to be trying to keep the barking at bay.
"I find there's no point in voting against extra dogs so I'm going to support it," she said.
All of council voted in favour of both variances except for councillors Nancy Bepple and Ken Christian.
With numerous requests to allow three-dog households having gone through council chambers in the past year, Coun. Donovan Cavers wondered if the City should rethink its stand.
He pointed out Tuesday that some municipalities allow four or five dogs. And council has given the nod to all requests made so far, although some were initially rejected.
"They're such emotionally charged discussions and it seems inappropriate to discuss in public," he said.
So far, the City has dealt with 20 out of 21 applications for variances to allow three dogs in the past year.
Of those, 16 were approved on the first application. Two that were rejected appealed and won. Two more were approved by council Tuesday. The final one is expected in February.
"We could free ourselves from these shackles if we increased the limit to three dogs. That would encompass 90 per cent of the people we're hearing from," he said.
But Mayor Peter Milobar said if that happened, people would start coming in asking to have four dogs.
He suggested Cavers wait six months to see if things simmer down.
Coun. Tina Lange offered another suggestion — people who want a third dog pay a huge licence fee of, say, $600.
"So it's only those who are really attached to that third dog."
Cavers agreed to wait.
