Newport: Owner jailed after dog nearly dies during heatwave

Crystal and Peachy slept on cardboard in a shed

A man has been jailed after he left his pet dog outside without enough water or shelter during a heatwave.

Walter Kanhukamwe, 21, left his American bulldog type dog Crystal in the garden where she collapsed on a day of record-beating heat in Wales.

Kanhukamwe, from Newport, was handed a 16-week prison sentence at Newport Magistrates' Court.

He was also given a 12-week sentence for failing to properly care for Crystal and another dog.

Kanhukamwe will serve both sentences at the same time, and has also been banned from keeping dogs for three years.

Crystal has been in RSPCA care and has been signed over to the charity to be rehomed

The RSPCA said it had visited the home of Kanhukamwe multiple times before this incident due to concerns about two dogs being left for long periods and left in unsuitable conditions.

RSPCA inspector Emma Smith said Gwent Police officers removed Crystal from the garden after she was found "in a collapsed state suffering from heat exhaustion".

The incident was subsequently passed onto the RSPCA for investigation.

Kanhukamwe was also jailed for failing to meet the needs of another dog known as Peachy

It said Crystal was brought to a veterinary surgeon on 19 July, 2022 in over 30C (86F) heat, having been left in the garden since the evening before.

Crystal was "panting, almost in respiratory distress," the organisation said, and her own temperature was 39.8C - and classed as hyperthermia.

The RSPCA said the consequences would likely have been fatal if her temperature had not been brought down to normal within the next hour.

Smith said: "Kanhukamwe had been given very clear advice about the importance of not leaving the dogs for long periods and the importance of providing suitable shelter, bedding and adequate supplies of water.

"It is heart-breaking to think about what Crystal went through on that hot summer day - it was completely avoidable. Luckily she pulled through - but her temperature when she arrived at the vets was close to fatal - so it was very touch and go for a while.

"Thankfully she recovered fully and hopefully soon will have her forever home."