Former Niagara-on-the-Lake canine control officer Ken Reid has started a wilderness animal service to help NOTLers deal with critters that are living a little too close for comfort.

“I have the equipment, I have the expertise and I only want to do it for people here, in (NOTL),” Reid told The Lake Report.

He said his prices are modest and meant to be more affordable for NOTLers than what bigger animal control companies may charge.

He is charging $50 for an assessment, $50 to set up and maintain a humane live-trap for three days and a $100 fee for animal relocation. He cautioned his prices are likely to increase as he gets his bearings on the demands of the job.

Reid said he prides himself on helping people and doing what is best for the animal. He won’t relocate animals if they are potentially nursing offspring, unless he is able to bring the offspring with them.

“There’s a lot of things to consider when you’re assessing situations, especially in the spring with potential babies, making sure they’re not getting orphaned and such,” he said.

Reid was already required to have his own business licence for his work with the town and has opted to pivot its operations from canine services to a general wildlife operation.

He said he started a few weeks ago and it’s been slow going.

“It’s going to be a word-of-mouth kind of thing. With spring coming, that’s when all the wildlife starts getting active,” he said.

Reid said pursuing this work builds on his skill set and enables him to continue serving the community he has called home for decades.

“I just want to provide an essential service for everyone in town,” he said.

“I used to do it when I was doing the canine control, at the same time. It grew so fast that I had to back out because it was taking away the time I had to provide for canine control,” he said.

“That being said, I felt the potential for doing strictly wildlife control would probably be a good source of income for me.”

He said similar jobs in his past and experience with NOTL have made him well-prepared for the role.

And residents can depend on Reid to respond to situations as quickly, he said, noting immediacy can often make the difference between life and death for wild animals.

He recalled an incident when a NOTLer called him after hearign the sounds of animal cries coming from a storm sewer.

Reid went over immediately, took the storm sewer grate off and investigated. He found five baby ducklings trapped in the sewer.

“I got my catch pole, which is five feet long. It was a deep, deep storm drain. I picked each one up and what they had done is walk through the culvert,” he said.

Reid speculated whether such timeliness would be possible with a large humane society.

“Would they come down and do it in time? I don’t know. But I had the time so I went and did it,” he said.

Reid said he can be reached at 905-658-8712.

Reid has launched a lawsuit against the Town of NOTL for severance pay. Read about it here.