When White Rock resident Tim Davison phoned his city about the dead raccoon on Marine Drive, he was surprised to learn the animal had perished on the wrong side of the road as far as the city was concerned.
Davison discovered the dead animal on the sidewalk on Marine Drive just west of Stayte Road July 14 around noon.
He said he phoned the city to have the raccoon taken away because the dead animal was lying on the sidewalk that leads to the beach and he could see people stepping over the body.
“Which side of the street is it?” said the person who took the call.
When Davison explained the raccoon was lying on the southern side, the city staffer said that placed it in Surrey.
“It’s not our problem,” Davison said he was told.
He was not impressed.
“It just seemed so silly,” he told Peace Arch News.
Then Davison called the City of Surrey and left a message on their phone system.
Sometime in the next two hours, someone removed the raccoon.
Contacted by PAN last week, White Rock bylaw enforcement officer Sam Thandi said the city is not usually that strict about which side of the border a dead animal is located.
“Normally, we’d just pick it up,” Thandi said.
“It’s not a big deal.”
Thandi said he personally has removed dead animals from the other side of the White Rock-Surrey dividing line a number of times.
Even if a dead critter technically isn’t within the city boundaries, “it is a reflection on White Rock as well,” Thandi said.
If a bylaw officer is busy, pickup may not happen right away, he added.
Thandi noted there are situations where the exact location of the border is important, such as the line along the beach that separates the two cities because they have different rules about dogs.
“I do not have the power to enforce White Rock bylaws in Surrey,” Thandi said.
