The fake cow has stood on top of Cheddar Et Cetera for almost two years. The fake cow has stood on top of Cheddar Et Cetera for almost two years. (CBC)

Staff at a cheese store in Ottawa’s east end are fighting to keep a statue of a cow mounted on the store’s roof.

Bylaw officers recently visited Cheddar Et Cetera in Orleans to tell the manager he was breaking a rule that prohibits banners or promotional objects from being placed above a store's roofline.

The fake bovine has stood on top of the store for almost two years, and the store has collected 1,500 signatures on a petition calling for changes to the bylaw.

Bob Monette, the city councillor for the area, said he’s working on a motion that would allow the cow to stay put.

”It’s not always one size fits all,” Monette said. “We need to show some compromise here, and obviously the community feels quite strongly on it.”

Monette’s motion on the issue will go before the city’s planning and environment committee on Feb. 23.

“What the motion will basically say is asking them to come back with a full report on roof signs by the end of 2010,” he said. He’d also like the committee to agree to an exception to allow the cow to stay up until the full report is filed.

The cheese store is owned by the St. Albert Cheese Co-operative.