A professional dog walker has been jailed after a court heard she killed two of her clients' dogs by leaving them in her car on one of the hottest days of the year.
Christine Carpenter left two spaniels she was paid to walk in the boot of her car days after the Met Office had issued its first ever extreme heat weather warning last summer. The court heard the two animals were dead "within minutes" as temperatures soared to 29 degrees.
An examination by a vet later revealed the two dogs internal temperatures were found to be the maximum the thermometer could reach. Owners Roy Narbey and wife Kate were "devastated" by their deaths after leaving them in the care of someone they considered their friend.
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Wales Online reported Carpenter was investigated and prosecuted by the RSPCA. Magistrates heard the 55-year-old mum took a group of dogs including her own out during the middle of the afternoon in her hometown of Ringwood in Hampshire. It was the third day of the Met Office's unprecedented extreme heat warning and the day after the hottest day of 2021 where temperatures reached 32.2C.
Carpenter ran a commercial dog walking business called Chris' Absolute Pets and the Narbey family hired her to walk their two dogs - an 11-year-old King Charles Cavalier Spaniel called Poppy and a five-year-old spaniel cross called Pixie - in January 2020. Carpenter charged £15 for two hours and always collected the dogs from the Narbey's home address.
The court heard Carpenter picked the dogs up at about 12.30pm from Roy and Kate Narbey's house. She had her own rescue dog in her car and drove to the nearby Kingston Great Common nature reserve, where there is a stream they could swim in.
Ms Wheadon, prosecuting, said Mrs Narbey told Carpenter to take the dogs for just a "half hour quick walk" because it was so hot. She offered Carpenter a drink but she declined as she was "worried about leaving the dogs in the car".
The court heard Mrs Narbey became "concerned" when Carpenter still hadn't returned her dogs by 5.30pm. She tried calling but didn't get a reply and texted Carpenter telling her to let herself in to feed the dogs as she had a key. Mrs Narbey went to an appointment but when it finished at 6.15pm she still hadn't heard from Carpenter and was "getting worried".
When Carpenter eventually answered Mrs Narbey could tell something was wrong as "her voice was a bit shaky" to which she replied: "I'm panicking because I can't wake the girls up." Mrs Narbey screamed at her to get to the vets but within minutes of the dogs arriving they were "gone".
Carpenter said: "I only left them for a minute, I love them like they are my own." Ms Wheadon said both dogs were "noticeably warm to the touch" and had a temperature of almost 43C even 25 minutes after they were bought to the vets. The court heard the true reading was likely even higher.
Carpenter was interviewed two days after and told police she put the dogs in the car with the windows open before going back inside her house to get her phone when she felt unwell and had a wash. She left her house but then returned to get a shopping bag as she was planning to go to the supermarket.
Ms Wheadon said: "She opened the boot, she said she couldn't breathe. The dogs were lying down and not moving. She didn't know how long the dogs were in the car, she said it felt like minutes. She did acknowledge there were exceptional temperatures.
"She accepted that ultimately her actions had caused the dogs to die." The court heard a veterinary expert who said the dogs died of "heat stress having been exposed to an environment of high temperature".
In a victim impact statement read out in court, Mrs Narbey said: "Since the sudden loss of our dogs, I have changed. I have become withdrawn and lack confidence. Before this happened I loved my home - now there are memories everywhere and I miss them all the time.
"I used to love where we live in the New Forest and taking our girls out for walks. I felt so blessed. Sadly, I don't feel like that now."
Mrs Wheadon said the fact Carpenter has a rescue dog and three rescue cats "doesn't change the facts of what happened last year". She added: "Whilst she may be remorseful and not intended what happened, she was neglectful.
"She is understandably upset but put this in the context of the Narbey family who have lost their two dogs."
Michael Stocken, defending, said Carpenter "immediately ceased her business" and was "traumatised herself as a result of her negligible conduct".
Carpenter, who trembled and cried in the dock, had previously pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to the animals and failing in her duty to ensure welfare. District Judge Anthony Callaway sentenced her to 18 weeks imprisonment and disqualified her from owning any animal for eight years.
He added: "This was an incredibly hot day and any professional should have known that having these dogs anywhere near a car, even with the windows open, was a bad idea. People expect their dogs to be cared for, that clearly didn't happen here. This was a gross breach of trust."
Speaking after the court case, Mr Narbey added: "We were bereft and devastated about what happened. We had to get another dog straight away because they were like family to us. She [Carpenter] was a friend of ours. She lived 200 yards around the corner.
"We wanted her to be banned from keeping or caring for animals but we were shocked when we found out she had been sent to prison. She has a child."
Speaking after the sentencing, RSPCA Inspector Jo Story added: “This is a tragic case in which two dogs sadly lost their lives. Our thoughts are with Poppy and Pixie’s owners. Many people think something like this will never happen to them so we hope this saddening case reminds people that the risk to the lives of animals is so high.
“We’d plead with people to never leave a dog in a vehicle even for a moment, especially during hot weather.”
