In an unprecedented move for liveable Oakville which takes effect today, Town council has approved parental leave for Town of Oakville employees who adopt a new dog or cat. The crowd at last night’s town council meeting applauded this landmark decision in making Oakville the most liveable town in Canada.
“We are proud to announce today that Town of Oakville employees who become new pet owners will have parental leave.”
“The biggest impediment to pet ownership is the time it takes to train kittens and puppies,”
Director,
HRHS
The new parental pet leave is available for any employee of the town of Oakville. Pet Leave takes place once the pet arrives home, and lasts for 6 weeks for dogs and 3 weeks for cats. At this point, other animals are not included in the Town of Oakville pet leave program.
“What is the world coming to?” said one councillor opposed to the move. “I've said no good would come from the last election. This council is positively crazy.”
The Halton Region Humane Society, which spearheaded the initiative by heavily lobbying council and the mayor, felt this was an excellent way to encourage pet ownership. A major contributor to the humane society, Mrs. Stonehall, was pleased that the $100,000 that was raised for this effort was well spent. Caesar Milan, The Pet Whisperer, was flown in from California to provide his support for the cause.
“The biggest impediment to pet ownership is the time it takes to train kittens and puppies. It is extremely exhausting, so recognizing the commitment pet owners must spend will result in a substantial decrease in animal abuse and far better trained pets,” stated a Director for the Halton Region Humane Society.
“This was a long battle”, said the councillor who sponsored the proposal, “but well worth the fight. We believe that this will be soon adopted across Canada.” Many council members are regularly new dog parents since Town Council agreed last year at this time to fund the costs associated with councillors participating in the Lion’s Club of Canada program for helper dogs.
In a related note, due to the popularity of the parental leave program with councillors, Town Council meetings have been suspended for the next six weeks.