On Tuesday evening, dog owners gathered in front of the district office to protest the move Photo: Olaf Selchow
By Sara Orlos Fernandes
The dog exercise area Arkenberge should go. Dog owners are fighting to preserve the area that is so important to them and are demanding a say.
In the district assembly (BVV) Pankow it is decided: The dog exercise area Arkenberge will be relocated. A compensation area in French Buchholz is to be prepared as a replacement. But the piece of land between the motorway and the S-Bahn tracks is not an alternative for dog owners.
Daniela S. (57) with Strolchi (4): “We’re trying to stick to not going beyond the run-out area. The alternative area is not suitable for dogs in terms of volume alone” Photo: Olaf Selchow
In Arkenberge, four-legged friends and their owners feel right at home. For 25 years they have been romping around on the 40 hectare field in the north of Pankow.
Sina B. (38) with Juna (3): “The area is very important to us. There is nothing comparable in the north of Berlin. There is little game on the meadows here. You don’t have to worry about the dog chasing after you.” Photo: Olaf Selchow
The area has belonged to the Blankenfelde conservation area since 2004 – a problem. According to the district parliament, the run-out area contradicts the applicable goals of the protected area ordinance.
The arguments: The boundaries of the exercise area are not respected, dogs are said to pollute neighboring farmland and bother riders and hikers. The dispute over this has been going on for a decade.
A sign indicates the exit area Photo: Olaf Selchow
There were already approaches to solving the conflict, as Dagmar Moriano (44) from the “Dogs in Arkenberge” interest group explains: “The decisions were made to fence off the exercise area and to set up rubbish bins. But none of that has happened to this day,” says the owner of three dogs.
Dagmar Moriano (44) with Phoebe, Paul and Paula: “It was decided to fence off the run-out area. But nothing happened” Photo: Olaf Selchow
Instead of fencing in, the decision has now been made to relocate. Cost: 20,000 euros. However, the arable land south of Bucher Strasse is not attractive for dog owners. Due to the adjacent A114 and S-Bahn tracks, it is not suitable for dogs and, at 100,000 square meters, is also significantly smaller.
On Tuesday evening, Moriano and other owners went to the BVV meeting again. Will they finally be heard? One thing is clear: they will fight to the last bone.