Man fined after pug dog, Luna, died in hot van at Baldock kennels

Pug Luna had been brought to the wedding in time for photographs and was then taken to the kennels

A man who left a dog inside a van on a hot day for two hours outside a boarding kennels has pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering after the pet died.

Luna, a pug, had been at her owners' wedding in Hertfordshire on 8 July 2022 and was then taken by Country Boarding to their kennels near Baldock.

Jeremy Burrowes, 66, co-owner of the kennels, admitted causing the dog's death at Stevenage Magistrates' Court.

He was fined £3,550 including costs.

The dog's owners, Ffion James and Ben Hill, from Hitchin, had posted photographs of their wedding and Luna on Facebook at the time, saying: "Yesterday [Friday] was one of the best and most amazing days of our lives.

"Unfortunately this morning is a completely different story. We woke up this morning to find out our beautiful little Puggy had died shortly after these photos were taken."

Three-year-old Luna died when she was left in a van at a kennels

Ms James said Luna had been left "in the care of a well-known local kennels and was horrifyingly left in the van and forgotten about".

"She was found a few hours later but it was already too late," she added.

"The weather yesterday would have made the van unbearably hot, and I can't imagine the suffering she must have gone through."

Luna's owners described her as "our baby"

At the time of Luna's death the kennels' co-owner Renate Burrowes wrote on social media that her husband, Jeremy, had picked up Luna from the wedding venue and brought her back to their kennels at 15:00 BST.

She said Burrowes had been called away "urgently" and she did not find Luna until 17:00, by which time the dog was "unresponsive... [and] despite trying I could not revive her".

The case was taken to court by North Hertfordshire District Council.

In a statement it said: "This was an incredibly sad incident and heartbreaking for Luna's owners.

"As the licensing authority it was important we took action and we are satisfied with the order of the court."

Burrowes admitted one count of causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal when he appeared at court.

Following the court case, Country Boarding released a statement to the BBC in which they said: "No words will ease the distress of Ffion and Ben [Luna's owners] but we do want again to state how deeply sorry we are for the death of their beloved pet Luna and for the unintended suffering she went through.

"Mr Burrowes accepts full responsibility for the awful consequences that day and feels continuing remorse that he became distracted by other tasks, leaving Luna stranded until it was too late.

"Since this happened he has given up any animal handling responsibilities and his role is now entirely administrative."