'Devastated': Bride mourns beloved pug who died on her wedding day after being left in hot van
Luna, an adored pug owned by Ffion James and Ben Hill, passed away on one of the warmest days of the year so far. On Friday, July 8, the couple exchanged vows at South Farm in Royston and Luna joined them for the adorable wedding photos. They were worried that having Luna at the event could be chaotic, so they decided to let kennel staff members take care of her for a day.
The newlyweds continued to spend the rest of the day celebrating their wedding without suspecting that it would be Luna's last day with them. Later that day, Luna was discovered dead after presumably having spent two hours in the scorching van's backseat.
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James, 30, a resident of Preston, Hertfordshire said, "I'm absolutely devastated and still can't bring myself to look at the photos. To think my Luna was dying in the back of a van while we were celebrating is just too horrific to contemplate." Just hours before things went south, photographers captured beautiful photos of the happy couple and their pet at the wedding location. James and Hill decided to cancel their honeymoon to Bath because they were planning to bring Luna along.
"It was just so hot that it wasn't fair on Luna so we asked for her to be collected by the kennels, to be brought back," James said. "We woke to find out our beautiful little puggy had died shortly after these photos were taken. They put her in a van, parked in their car park and then just forgot about her. Poor Luna died in what was basically an oven." The couple has demanded that The Country Boarding for Cats and Dogs in Baldock should be shut down. The owners of the kennel have expressed regret for what transpired, but James considered it to be "not good enough."
"The weather would have made the van unbearably hot, and I can't imagine the suffering she must have gone through," she said. "Everyone who knows us knows that we adored our little Luna and we are completely traumatized that we have lost her too soon. But also in such a horrific and unimaginable way. She was our baby, best friend, and entire world. We can't believe she is gone and what should have been the best weekend of our lives is now ruined and a living nightmare."
Renate Burrowes is a co-owner of Country Boarding for Cats and Dogs along with her husband Jeremy. She said, "On Friday, July 8, an incident happened in which a dog died in our care, which has devastated us all here at Country Boarding. We care deeply for all the animals we look after and to have something like this happen has left us completely heartbroken. We wanted to provide more details here so customers know exactly what happened and so you know what we've done to ensure something like this can never happen again."
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She explained that her husband Jeremy had to rush to fix a system problem that was affecting clients in reception when he took Luna back to the kennels. "This distracted Jeremy from notifying a staff member to come and collect the dog, as would be the normal procedure," she continued.
Renate discovered Luna two hours later. She said, "I found she was unresponsive at that time despite trying, I could not revive her. I cradled her and held her, and with the help of a member of staff laid her in a dog bed. We were so heartbroken for this little dog and so wished for her to come alive again. Those sorts of miracles seldom happen, and so my next thought concerned her owners."
She claimed she tried to reach the newlywed couple right away, but their messages weren't returned until the next morning when they came to pick up their pet right away. "Since then, we have been in contact with the owners about the next steps, which is a private matter and whilst we know we can't bring Luna back, we will work with them to ensure we help and support them in any way we can," Renate said.
"Whilst it sounds an unimaginable mistake to make, humans make mistakes and all we can do now is learn from this incident. The blame for this incident lies entirely with us, as the business owners, and not with our wonderful employees," Renate concluded.