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A planned pet parade has turned into a “pet show” at Skateboard Park, following a city council meeting at which permission for the parade was declined.

Police Chief Mel Hunt and Grand Coulee City Council members were hesitant Oct. 2 to approve the plan to parade pets from Pepper Jack’s parking lot to the NCNB parking lot along Midway Avenue during this Saturday’s Coulee Fall Festival.

The chief said the parade would require the involvement of six officers, which had not been budgeted. And he said that number of officers were not readily available. Council members also were cool to the idea, saying that the chamber of commerce, the sponsoring agency, needed to plan further in advance.

Bob Valen, appearing for the chamber, told council members that if the idea didn’t fly, then there was a “Plan B.”

The council quickly wanted to know what “Plan B” was. That’s when Valen revealed that having a pet show at Skateboard Park, rather than a pet parade, was satisfactory.

All was not lost on council members who encouraged the chamber to plan ahead for a pet parade next year.

The chamber had already received approval for the parade this Saturday from the Washington State Department of Transportation.