Dog and puppy daycare ordered to close

A PASTOR from Durbanville in Cape Town will now be able to prepare his sermons in peace and quiet after a court ordered the closure of a puppy and dog daycare centre in his neighbourhood.

Reverend Mark Wayne Christopher had to endure the barking and yelping coming from his neighbours’ business, known as Puppy Town, for years.

His complaints to Puppy Town owners Jolindi and Pieter Verster were ignored.

Not even his complaints to the City of Cape Town that the Versters were, among other things, contravening the by-laws by looking after more than 17 dogs and puppies during the day, yielded any results.

The Versters said that they were within their rights to operate their business and that Christopher could not expect to have peace and quiet all day, especially in a street where there were also other households with dogs.

Besides, the Versters said, they did scale down a bit and were no longer hosting dog birthday parties.

Puppy Town is described as a daycare centre which, among other things, offers constant supervision, structured playtime, potty training, basic training, socialisation with different dogs, and constant feedback to the owners about their dogs.

Dog owners drop off their furry babies on their way to work and fetch them at the end of the day – an exercise which Christopher says results in a cacophony of barking all day.

He turned in desperation to the court to prohibit his neighbours from further running their puppy and dog daycare from their home.

He said the Versters’ business was a distraction to the peace and serenity that he was entitled to as a neighbour, and it was unlawful on several grounds.

Clients drop off the dogs at the property from 6:30am during the week.

One of Christopher’s arguments is that the business operating from 6.30am until 6pm was unlawful because the property zoning permitted businesses that operate only from 8am to 5.30pm, Mondays to Fridays.

He also complained about the “noise pollution”, saying the other dogs on the property started barking when their friends were dropped or fetched.

The dogs’ barking on the property triggered a cacophony of barking from all the dogs in the neighbourhood, which aggravated matters.

Christopher told the court that he had never been able to enjoy his back garden due to the constant paroxysms of barking emanating from Puppy Town.

He could not even enjoy a morning cup of coffee in his back garden before starting his day, due to it being so unpleasant, as puppies were being dropped off and barking continuously during that period.

Also, if he wanted to use his back garden on a weekday evening, he had to wait until around 6.15pm or 6.30pm before the noise quietened down sufficiently.