The dog King will return to his owner in the second half of this week. The municipality of Emmen complies with the judgment of the court in Assen. King, an American Bully XL, has previously been involved in a biting incident, after which he was seized by the municipality.
Yesterday, the judge ruled in summary proceedings brought by King’s owner against the municipality of Emmen. The judge ruled that King must be returned to his owner within two days. A dog may only be seized temporarily. The dog’s fate should have been decided sooner, but so far this had not been possible.
Mayor Eric van Oosterhout did not agree with the ruling and filed an appeal – a so-called emergency appeal – against this decision with the Court of Appeal in Leeuwarden. However, the judge rejected this due to the lack of interest. The municipality has therefore requested a new emergency appeal from the court in Groningen to keep the dog off the street.
A spokesperson for the mayor does not want to anticipate this appeal yet. It is therefore not yet clear whether the dog will be seized again if the Groningen judge rules in favor of the municipality. According to the spokesperson, the municipality assumes that the owner will adhere to the previously imposed muzzle and leash orders in the meantime.
The mayor took the decision last year to confiscate the dog after a biting incident. King had already bitten a dachshund to death earlier last year. The owner protested against the decision, after which the case was submitted to the objections committee. It remained unclear to the committee members whether King had actually bitten. Due to a lack of evidence, the committee advised the council to release the four-legged friend.
Van Oosterhout did not want to do that because of the high risk of recurrence. The animal has also been declared dangerous by experts. Van Oosterhout therefore ignored the committee’s advice. King’s owner then decided to file summary proceedings.