Ten dogs died in one night in a luxury animal shelter, owners are ‘devastated with grief’ | Domestic
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UPDATEThe Central Netherlands police are investigating the death of several dogs in a luxury dog boarding facility in Woudenberg. The animals died during the night from Friday to Saturday. The owners of the dogs are ‘devastated with grief’, says the lawyer representing some of them. “How could it go so wrong?”
The incident took place at a ‘luxury hotel’ for dogs. The animals do not stay in cages during their visit, but in apartments. They can walk in and out during the day, and there is camera surveillance at night. On Saturday morning, one of the employees of Het Hondenhuys in Woudenberg noticed that something was seriously wrong. Ten animals were found dead, several others were still alive, one had to be rushed to the animal hospital. Animal police arrived on the scene Saturday morning after the dogs were discovered.
Many questions
Lawyer Brigitte Roodveldt speaks on behalf of several affected dog owners. “They are very sad and have many questions that have not yet been answered. What happened? Was my dog in pain? How could it go so wrong?”
On social media, one dog owner says: ‘My nightmare has come true, my children and very best dog friends have died. Two dogs, this is a big shock to me.’
Dogs are often an extension of the family. Having to continue without them is unpalatable
Lawyer Brigitte Roodveldt
Some victims were living on the other side of the world when they were informed of the death of their pet. One of Roodveldt’s clients was at Schiphol Airport checking in when she received a phone call with the terrible news.
“Not everyone was on holiday. One of them had never housed her dogs elsewhere before and wanted to ‘try it out’ for a weekend. Because the guesthouse is so well regarded. She has now lost two dogs. I don’t have to tell anyone how bad that is, dogs are often an extension of the family. Having to continue without them is unpalatable.”
Debt question
The victims are not yet going to blame the pension owner as long as it is still uncertain what happened. “We are sure that they did not want it that way and that this is terrible for them too. There are never any winners in these matters, only losers.”
Let’s wait for the investigation and hope that there will be clarity soon
Lawyer Roodveldt
Roodveldt does not want to comment on the rumor that the animals died due to overheating. “There is no point in speculating, let’s wait for the investigation and hope that there will be clarity soon.”
A police spokesperson confirms that an investigation has been launched into the death of the dogs, but does not wish to comment further on the matter. The NVWA (Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority) is also involved in the investigation. The owner of Het Hondenhuys has not yet responded to requests from this site for a response.
Terrible
A spokesperson for the dog boarding house objects Nu.nl said it was ‘terrible what happened’. “First and foremost for the animals and our customers, but we are also devastated. This has never happened before. There are only losers in this situation.”
The dog boarding house also has its own investigation into what exactly went wrong in the apartment where the animals were kept. “The apartment in question is hermetically sealed. There are no more dogs there at the moment.” Het Hondenhuys is assisted by Dibevo, the trade organization for enterprising pet specialists. He could not respond to questions on Monday.
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