-But council warns owner to keep goose quiet-

OSOYOOS TIMES-March 19, 2008-

By Chad IngramrnOsoyoos Times

One Osoyoos man will be keeping his goose, at least for now.
Thanks for letting me come here to defend Lulu, said David Haynes, the bird's owner, as he took the podium for a presentation to Osoyoos town council at its meeting on March 17.
The town recently received complaints about the honking noises Lulu “ a tamed goose whose full name is Louis “ makes at night.
However, Haynes contended that most of the residents in his Peanut Pond neighbourhood have no problem with Lulu, and that in fact many think of him as a pet, often feeding the animal.
He said the complaints came from only a few and he presented council with a petition of some 60 signatures in defence of the goose.
He's our family pet, Haynes said, explaining that while Lulu often roams free in the Peanut Pond area during the day, he returns home to Haynes' property at nighttime.
As you can see from our petition, he does not make much noise at night.
Haynes, who moved to Osoyoos with 12-year-old Lulu a year-and-a-half ago from Spruce Grove, Alta., said the goose has been quieter at night lately and can even understand a command of Ssshhhh.
He said an Osoyoos bylaw officer recently came to his home and told him he had to get rid of Lulu if the bird couldn't keep quiet.
The goose's story has attracted widespread media attention and Osoyoos Mayor John Slater has appeared on television saying the town would remove the animal.
We're not doing away with Louis at all, said Coun. Ted Cronmiller.
He said, however, that as a resident of Osoyoos, Haynes is obligated to abide the town's noise bylaw, which prevents citizens from unduly disturbing each other with any kind of noise or sound.
The bylaw's vagueness has drawn criticism in the past with regards to the town's handling of noise complaints arising from the Rattlesnake Canyon go-cart track and Haynes also criticized the regulation in his presentation.
Council assured Haynes nothing would happen to his goose, but insisted he would be fined, regularly, if there were sufficient complaints from neighbours.
Whether it's a dog or a rhinoceros . . . whatever it is you have to control it, said Coun. Allan Carswell. If you do, all the power to you and your goose.
Haynes ended his presentation by saying that if there was neighbourhood consensus that Lulu is a nuisance, he would take the animal to a farm.