SPCA to close Coquitlam shelter due to noise complaints

The SPCA says it's being forced to closeits facility in Coquitlam, B.C., and lay off three people after city officials received complaints from neighbours aboutbarking dogs.

The agency has done everything it can to make the shelter on Pipeline Road quieter but city officials said it's not good enough, SPCA chief executive officer Craig Daniell told CBC News Friday.

"The City of Coquitlam told us very clearly that if we continue to keep dogs in the Coquitlam shelter they'll take legal action against us," he said.

But Lisa Parkes, an acting solicitor for the City of Coquitlam, said the city didn't order the facility to shut down.

"In this case we've told them they need to limit noise," she said Friday.

"We haven't asked them to remove the dogs from there. We haven't asked them to get out of Coquitlam or close the facility just to get the noise under control."

The Pipeline Road shelter began operating 48 years ago and the agency has hired an acoustical engineer to make changes after complaints from neighbours were filed to the city about barking dogs, general manager of operations Bob Busch said.

Among other things, the shelter reduced the number of dogs, installed rubber backing on the dog kennels and put acoustic panels on the wall, Busch said.

The engineer found that passing trucks were making more noise than the dogs, he said.

The SPCA will close the Coquitlam shelter July 1, Daniell said.

It will, however, continue to conduct animal cruelty investigations, respond to emergency calls and provide shelter for animals in the area in another location not in Coquitlam.