Limits on pets needed, Thunder Bay residents argue

Just days after city council rejected looking into puttling limits on pets, a Thunder Bay woman is defending her right to have 19 dogs in her home even though some of her neighbours don't share her opinion.

Marie Petry said she doesn't see a reason to limit the number of dogs or cats per household, and added her animals are well taken care of, in good health, and are spayed or neutered.

"I invited them into my home, and the words from the agent at the humane society were, 'My place is spotless. You're running a tight ship, carry on, good for you for helping these animals," she said.

"They mean everything to me."

But Cory Tucker, who lives around the corner from Petry, said nobody should have that many animals in one space.

"Our landlord says that there's nothing they can do because there's no bylaws against it," Tucker said.

Over in another neighbourhood, Valerie Morsette said the 17 cats on just one floor of her apartment building are too much.

"This is a social problem, it's a public health problem," she said. "We've made many complaints to housing and they're sympathetic but there's nothing that they can do because there's no bylaw."

Morsette said she hopes city council will reconsider its decision and put a cap on how many pets are allowed in each household.

And thats a statement with which Tucker can agree as, "people can hoard anywhere from five dogs to 100 dogs, and there's nothing that prevents it," he said.