Did Mayor Eric van Oosterhout of Emmen have the right dog confiscated after an incident in October? King’s owner, an American Bully XL, claimed in court on Monday that no.
“They came and took him away without any evidence,” the 33-year-old woman from Emmen told the administrative judge on Monday, before whom she is pursuing summary proceedings to get her King back. The owner has lost the animal since mid-October, when her cousin and stepson walked King and two other American Bully dogs in Emmen.
Another dog owner reported the incident to the municipality of Emmen a few days after he came across the three other four-legged friends. One of the bully XL dogs allegedly broke free from the leash on the evening in question and bit a white shepherd. The reporter pointed to King, the only male of the trio of dogs owned by the woman from Emmen.
King previously bit a dachshund to death
Although the affected shepherd in Emmen did not need to go to a vet, Mayor Eric van Oosterhout saw reason to confiscate King. Especially because the dog had already been classified as dangerous after biting a dachshund to death. He was allowed to stay with the woman from Emmen if she put a muzzle on him and kept him on a leash when she went outside with him.
The fact that King would have sunk his teeth into another dog that evening was the deciding factor for Van Oosterhout. It would not only violate the leash requirement, but also the obligation to wear a muzzle. In addition, the municipality prohibited King from becoming involved in new incidents under any circumstances.
‘I stick to every rule’
According to the owner, the mayor should never have gone so far. “King stayed at a distance that evening and simply wore his muzzle. I obey every rule. What happened is really unacceptable.” She and her lawyer presented several witnesses and also provided the administrative judge with an audio recording in which the reporter admitted that King simply had his muzzle on during the incident.
The woman does not deny that there was a skirmish with the white shepherd, but that one of her other dogs was involved. “King just kept his distance at that time. And my other dogs also go outside with a muzzle collar, so there really can’t have been any biting involved.”
Dog had to ‘keep its paws clean’
Representatives of the municipality keep it short in court. According to them, King was one of the dogs involved, while in their view it should have been clear that he had to keep his paws clean since the dachshund bit him to death.
On December 12, the objections committee of the municipality of Emmen will consider the woman’s request to get her dog back. But, as the judge already agreed, “that feels like far too long for dog owners.” She hopes to hold King in her arms again this week, when the administrative judge issues a ruling. If that does not work, the path to substantive proceedings follows, which can often take a long time.
The bully XL breed is the result of crosses with American bulldogs and English bulldogs, among others. The British government recently hinted that it plans to ban the dog breed following a series of attacks on humans, some of which have ended fatally. The Minister of the Interior called the species ‘deadly dangerous for children’. After December 31, the animal can no longer be legally housed or sold in Great Britain. The Netherlands has no ban on dog breeds.