One by one, Tim lifts the carcasses of the sheep from the bus. ‘We first helped pick up the animals this morning from the place where they died, in the meadow and the ditch between the Slaperdijk and the greenhouses. Now we are going to store them here on Haagweg, and they will be picked up tomorrow. ‘
Tim calls it ‘Luguber’. ‘It’s the worst thing I’ve ever experienced. You don’t wish this on anyone. ‘ But how could it have happened come? Saturday night my brother and I went out to walk the dogs together. At one point my dog pulls herself free from her collar, she runs away and I call her, normally she will come back, but not now. ‘
‘I feel guilty’
According to the brothers, the other dog was also on a leash, but was pulled by the other. Whether the collar was a little too loose? “It was no looser than usual, I could put two fingers between it, really, I find it incomprehensible.”
Tim continues to search all night. ‘I immediately thought of the sheep. I’ve only lived here for six weeks, and during that time I had noticed that she is very interested in those animals when we walk by. I have been in all places where there are sheep, only not in this place. I should have done it differently, should have warned the police immediately. Yes, I feel guilty. ‘
‘Very wrong’
Shepherd Judith Prins appreciates that the boys are helping out today, although it remains just a plaster on the sore wound. “I’m paralyzed,” she still manages to get through her tears with a smile. ‘I also see that movie in front of me all the time. How I found out that only one of my 60 sheep was left in the pasture. And how during the search more and more dead animals found on the road, in the ditch, or alive, completely in shock. Then you know: it is very wrong. ‘
In addition to the fourteen deceased sheep, four sheep are still missing and five injured, of which Judith does not know if they will make it. “I’m assuming the missing sheep are dead too.” She hopes the drama is a lesson to other dog owners. ‘People need to understand that a dog is always a dog. He can be so sweet at home, but things can go wrong. And now it’s sheep, but next time it’s kids. A dog should always be kept on a leash. ‘
Not all bitten to death
It is still unclear what the boys are going to do with their dogs. “We have to see the consequences, this is not possible,” says the boys’ father. “Another place will have to be found for them, at least not in an area with sheep.”
According to Tim and Matthijs, it does not necessarily have to do with the Husky breed. ‘They are not at all known for doing this. I think they mainly chased the sheep towards the ditch and sheep cannot swim, so they drowned there. There are bite marks, but they really didn’t bite them all to death. ‘
Nightmare gets a tail
Judith expects this nightmare to get a tail end. ‘Besides the emotional damage, there is also financial damage.’ Among the animals bitten to death were mainly lambs, the future of Prince’s herd. “It’s like a mother losing her children,” she says emotionally.
Whether her fencing should be better and stronger, she doesn’t think so. ‘If a dog like that gets it in his head, you can have a fence ten feet high, you can do whatever you want, but he will get over it anyway. What we are mainly going to do is deal with this and hope that we can give it a place. ‘
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