Elderly dogs left tied to bike parking in pouring rain at Ameland ferry port

A person abandoned their elderly dogs at the Ameland ferry on Sunday evening, the island’s animal ambulance reported. The two dogs were tied to the bicycle parking in the pouring rain with their food and their passports in a shopping bag before their owner got onto the ferry and left them behind.

“When we arrived at the ferry, we found an extremely sad situation. In the pouring rain, two older dogs were sitting strapped to the bicycle shed, looking around completely displaced,” the animal ambulance said. “A shopping bag containing food, bowls, and the dogs’ passports had been placed near the animals.”

Abandoning an animal is a criminal offense, so the animal ambulance called the police. Officers responded from Dokkum to the port of Holwert, where they arrested the owner on the ferry upon its arrival. “The owner will have to answer for his irresponsible behavior.”

The animal ambulance found a temporary spot for the two dogs, aged 11 and 9 according to their passports, to spend the night and, on Monday, started looking for a permanent solution. The situation “deeply affected us as volunteers,” the animal ambulance said.