Schukov: Communing once again with animals is a step back into simpler times

Pointe-Claire was thinking outside the barn when it green lighted a sheep eco-grazing project at Edgewater Park along Lake St-Louis: Schukov

Shepherd Simon Vaillancourt tends to sheep that are grazing in Edgewater Park in Pointe-Claire. The project, which launched in June, returns for a week starting Saturday, Aug. 25. John Mahoney / Montreal Gazette

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I don’t recall Pointe-Claire Mayor John Belvedere promising, as one of his election platforms, Vote for me and I will bring sheep to Edgewater Park, but apparently the eco-grazing project was not a baaaaad (Sorry, the letter “a” is sticky on my keyboard.) experience for local folk.

I have seen this sort of (not entirely methane-less) experiment in other towns, and people love it. Humans, whether some text-addicts like to admit it or not, have a natural affinity for communing with warm-blooded, non-threatening mammals (unlike our own species.) I do not include dogs in this whole discussion because they are so domesticated as extended family members they have practically just stopped short of actually being human. I prefer a species that blends into the environment while still keeping you at elbow distance if they had their druthers.

(I still insist we need a cat run park.)

Anyway, why not extend this sort of farm critter and city folk intermingling in additional directions? Why not rewrite the bylaws so the West Island can go back a bit to the time when people shared some land with farm animals? (I think they called them farms.) It was only maybe 60 years go when you could still see cows grazing in the West Island.

Municipalities can fill their coffers with money received for special permits allowing you to have chickens in your backyard. I think they have some in Île-Perrot. Owners tell me they are a breeze to own and the eggs are a bonus. (Come to think of it, the listlessly vacant Ste-Anne water tower would make an awesome chicken coop. They lay the eggs at the top and the eggs spiral down a chute to the bottom. It would be fun to watch, like putting a quarter in a gumball machine.)

And if sheep can be allowed to mosey by the bay, why not cows along the shores of Baie-D’Urfé? You can even open a popular dairy bar. I, for one, would like to see a milking contest.

Back to the original topic of eco-grazing: In terms of local industry, it could be the solution to lawn care contractors having to deal with neighbours who complain about lawnmower and leaf blower rackets. You just call the lawn care people up, they come by and unload a few sheep and cows (depending on whether you want your lawn fertilized) and let them loose on your grass. The next day (if they haven’t wandered off down Highways 20 or 40) they get picked up for their next munching job.

In fact, animals don’t even have to serve a practical purpose. Wouldn’t it be lovely to have small petting zoos all over the West Island? Great family fun.

Here’s a super idea for those winter blahs: We have penguins in the snow. And you can sell fish to people who want to feed them. Who wouldn’t go to see penguins in a conga line in Edgewater Park?

Life got way too complicated after lawyers outnumbered farmers, in our lifetime. The reason the sheep were so popular hoofing it over the footprint of the Edgewater Hotel’s ghost is because deep down we all still harbour some connection to the land, when life was simpler. Animals haven’t changed. We have. And there is no going back. So when we see the joy in the eyes of a child petting a sheep for the first time, for a moment you are stepping back in time, forgetting about the traffic, the condos and the stress.

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