New Year’s Eve is not a party for everyone. Many dogs are afraid of fireworks and so owners bring their pets en masse to a dog boarding facility. Reservations were already received at Dierenpension De Lofert in Berlicum a year ago and they are now completely full with New Year’s Eve.
It is a busy week for Harvy Schouten, owner of the animal shelter. “People usually bring their pets when they go on holiday, but at this time of year this is mainly due to fear of fireworks. We can accommodate around 100 dogs and all enclosures are now full.”
The pet boarding house is located in the countryside and therefore noise pollution is limited. “We obviously have fireworks in the area here, but they are all remote. The dogs experience some dull bangs, but not nearly as intense as in the cities and villages.”
According to Harvy, there is a major shortage of good shelter locations for pets in the Netherlands. This means that many guest houses are quickly fully booked for New Year’s Eve. “The majority call a few months in advance, but there are also plenty of people who plan a year in advance. If they pick up their dog after New Year’s Eve, they immediately make a booking for the following year.”
“I reserved the spot for this year on January 2 last year.”
Ronnie Vorstenbosch is one of those people who made a reservation at Harvy early. “It’s a necessity. I can hardly walk my dog Milo for days before New Year’s Eve. He has been here for New Year’s Eve for five years now. There is chaos with fireworks in the area where I live,” he says. “I reserved the place for this year on January 2 last year and I will try that again for next year. Milo has been here since he was a puppy. Harvy takes into account that the regular guests have a place.”
Edwin van der Els and Femke van Zandvoort are bringing their two dogs away for the first time at New Year’s Eve. “This is the first year that we are not at home because we are celebrating with friends. If the dogs couldn’t go here, we would stay home,” says Femke.
The oldest dog gets stressed by all the fireworks and the youngest dog reacts to that, says Edwin. “The eldest is completely freaked out when he hears a bang. He immediately wants to come inside and he sits next to you. Fortunately, they will have some rest here in the coming days.”