Dog dies after being left in hot car by walker

Frankie's owners described him as "a wonderful dog who brought light and love to everyone he met"

A couple whose dog died after being left in a hot car by a professional dog walker are calling for stricter regulations to prevent another tragedy.

Graeme Reece and Helen Brown from Peacehaven in East Sussex had entrusted Allanna Bergin-Parsons with walking their three-year-old Welsh Border Collie Labrador, Frankie, on 24 July.

But several hours later, Bergin-Parsons admitted she had "forgotten" about Frankie, who died in the back of her vehicle.

Bergin-Parsons, 28, from Peacehaven, pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal and was given a community order of 80 hours unpaid work and ordered to pay £1,048 compensation at Brighton Magistrates' Court on Thursday.

"Losing Frankie has devastated us and we don't want anyone else to have to go through that," said Mr Reece.

He said they had been hiring Bergin-Parsons, who ran a business called Allie's Pet Care Services, for a few months and that she had been recommended to them as having lengthy experience.

He added that, on the day in question, she had taken Frankie out for his usual weekly morning walk, along with another client's dog.

But when he and his wife returned home from work that evening there was no sign of their pet.

"Helen texted Allanna to ask where Frankie was and she said that she'd 'dropped him off ages ago'," said Mr Reece.

Frankie's ashes were scattered in numerous "special places where he loved to go for walks"

"So we double-checked and saw his lead wasn't there either, which made us think maybe someone had broken in and stolen him."

The couple then started their frantic search, using a GPS device attached to Frankie's collar to eventually track him down to Bergin-Parsons' driveway.

"When we got there she came out of her house and said 'It's not good news', at which point I realised Frankie was lifeless in the back of her car," said Mr Reece.

"When I asked what happened, Allanna replied 'I forgot him'."

Mr Reece added: "By that point I was just wailing and cradling Frankie - all I wanted to do was take him home".

From that point the couple claim to have received "no apology" from Bergin-Parsons, only "radio silence".

They added that they had Frankie cremated and his ashes scattered in "a number of special places where he loved to go for walks".

"We still can't get our heads around how Allanna could have forgotten he was in her car," said Mr Reece, who was "amazed" to discover a specific national licence isn't required for someone wanting to become a professional dog walker in the UK.

"I want tighter regulations brought in so this sort of thing can be prevented," he added.

"Frankie was a wonderful dog who brought light and love to everyone he met.

"We miss him so much."