A man has admitted to causing unnecessary suffering to a pug dog named Luna, which died after being left inside a van for two hours on a hot day outside a boarding kennel. Luna had been taken to Country Boarding kennels near Baldock after attending her owners’ wedding in Hertfordshire on July 8, 2022.
At Stevenage Magistrates’ Court, co-owner of the kennels Jeremy Burrowes, 66, pleaded guilty to causing the death of the dog and was fined £3,550, including costs.
During the incident, the owners of the pug dog, Ffion James and Ben Hill, had shared pictures of their wedding day and Luna on social media, describing it as one of the most amazing days of their lives.
“The couple, who had shared beautiful photos of their wedding day and their pug, Luna, on Facebook, received devastating news that Luna had passed away shortly after the photos were taken,” they said.
According to Ms James, Luna was “left in the care of a well-known local kennels and was left in the van and forgotten about.”
Ms James stated that Luna was found after a few hours, but it was too late, and the hot weather would have made the van unbearable for her. She also said that she couldn’t imagine the suffering that Luna had to go through.
When Luna died, one of the kennels’ co-owners, Renate Burrowes, posted on social media that her husband, Jeremy, had collected Luna from the wedding venue and taken her to the kennels at 3:00 pm.
Renate Burrowes, co-owner of the kennels, stated on social media that Jeremy had brought Luna back to the kennels at 15:00 BST but was called away urgently. She found the dog unresponsive at 17:00 and despite trying, she could not revive her.
North Hertfordshire District Council took the case to court and expressed their condolences, stating that the incident was very distressing for Luna’s owners.
Burrowes pleaded guilty to one charge of causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal during his court appearance. The North Hertfordshire District Council, as the licensing authority, expressed satisfaction with the court’s decision in a statement.
Country Boarding issued a statement to the BBC expressing their condolences to Luna’s owners and apologizing for the pet’s death and suffering.
Country Boarding released a statement to the BBC expressing deep regret for the death of Luna and the unintended suffering she went through. They stated that Mr. Burrowes accepts full responsibility for the incident and has since given up any animal handling responsibilities. His role now solely involves administrative tasks.
Source : bbc.com