RESIDENTS OF Limassol’s Governor’s Beach caravan site are up in arms after being told that they have to get rid of their pet dogs or move out within one month.
When purchasing their caravans, the residents were told they were allowed to have dogs, and they are now outraged by the sudden change in the rules.
“One year ago when I bought the caravan, I told them I had a dog and asked if that’s OK; they said it was fine. I wouldn’t have bought it otherwise. Now they told me that the contract I signed says dogs are not allowed. I refuse to sit here and wait for someone to take my dog from me,” said Maureen Paul, a permanent resident at Governors Beach caravan site.
Like all dog-owners on site, Paul received a letter, sent out on June 12 telling her she would have to get rid of her dog within one month. “They have not given us a reason why they want us to get rid of them. If they told us what the problem is then we could address that problem,” another caravan resident said.
The residents are contesting this decision, arguing that the site manager had initially assured them they could keep their pets on site, and that the caravan ownership contract does not clearly state they cannot ‘keep’ dogs on site. “The contract says it is not allowed to ‘bring and leave’ domestic animals, but not that residents are not allowed to ‘keep’ animals,” Paul said.
“The contract, which the residents signed, states they cannot keep dogs,” said Nicos Hadjimarcou, site manager.
“As a favour we allowed them to keep dogs, but now that the CTO has noticed they have to get rid of them. I am actually in trouble because of this,” Hadjimarcou added.
Caravan owners, however, insist they had followed all rules and regulations relating to dog ownership. The law in Cyprus stipulates that dogs must be licensed, quiet, owners must clean up after fouling and not let them run loose outside. “We comply with all these regulations. As long as we stick to the rules, what’s the problem? How can they intrude in our lives in this way?” Paul said.
“All these dogs are licensed, so the authorities know where they live. We followed all the procedures, got the Muktar’s stamp, and they all said the dogs could be here. We did everything by the rules,” she added.
An additional problem is where the dogs would go if their owners were forced to give them up. According to the site residents, 80 per cent of the approximately 350 caravan-owners have a dog, meaning that a large number of dogs would be homeless.
“The letter doesn’t say where the dogs have to go. There is no place for them. Some of them were strays, or had been abandoned here and we took them in. What will happen to them now? They will all end up in the pound,” Paul said
“They advertise in the newspapers ‘good homes wanted for dogs’; these are good homes, they get a good life,” another resident added.
The CTO could not be reached for comment.
