Fourteen Rottweilers in a barn on the Zuiderdiep in Valthermond have been making tensions in the neighborhood for months. The dogs, who are owned by a family on the outskirts of the village, give their neighbors sleepless nights and angry feelings. The municipality of Borger-Odoorn has announced that a fine follows if the number of dogs is not going down.
The family does not agree and went to the Council of State, the highest administrative court in the Netherlands. There they tried to get the municipal decision off the table in The Hague on Friday. Whether that succeeds is just the question. The judge was critical about the large number of animals: “I know people who have one dog, and also two dogs. But I don’t know anyone who has fourteen dogs from hobby. That’s a lot!” He added that he is “more a cat man”.
For the neighbors of the dog enclosure, the size has long been full. The couple who lives next to the kennel told during the session how drastic the nuisance is. “We love gardening, but I am no longer going into the garden without earplugs,” the man said. “The barking continues. The whine can also be heard of the dogs in the living room.” His wife added: “The house is dear to us, our son was born there. But we are now going out as much as possible.”
According to the family that holds the Rottweilers, it is all heavily exaggerated. They say that the sound remains more than under limits. To prove that, they have purchased a decibel meter. They also have the barn where the dogs stay with soundproofing material. Outside the animals only come under supervision, on a special site.
According to the family’s lawyer, the cause of the noise may be somewhere else. She suggested at the Council of State that the fourteen Rottweilers are the culprits, but other dogs in the neighborhood. “My clients have trained and trained their dogs well. That’s why they bark so little.”
Nevertheless, the municipality of Borger-Odoorn sees the situation differently. The presence of so many dogs would not fit within the rules for the outskirts of Valthermond. According to the municipality, De Kennel also looks like a professional breeding company, something that is not allowed at that location.
The family emphasizes that there is no commercial breeding. Yet their lawyer admits that puppies are born now and then. “Although two bitches sometimes throw youngsters in the pack,” she said, that is not enough to speak of business activities.
The Council of State will consider the case in the coming weeks. The ruling is expected in approximately six weeks.