Family dog ​​collapses in hot car and dies after pet sitter takes him for a walk in heatwave

The owner of a dog who died on a hot day, allegedly after collapsing in the back seat of a car in the care of a pet sitter, says the sitter was never given permission to take her dogs with her

A family was devastated to discover their dog had collapsed and died on a muggy day, just hours after leaving the animal with a pet sitter.

Andrea Brown says the sitter took the family’s two Bernese Mountain Dogs for a walk to Gloucester in the West Country on Friday as the country was experiencing a heatwave.

However, she claims that the sitter did not have permission to do so.

One of the dogs, Banjo, apparently collapsed in the back of a car and died soon after. GloucestershireLive reports.

Andrea had left the dogs and sitter at 4pm and was informed by the vets at 8pm – before she could see Banjo – that he was dead.

Andrea, from Kingsholm in Gloucester, is appealing for the public to get in touch with any information they might have as the dog sitter was not allowed to walk the animals given it was such a hot day.

She found the sitter on an agency website and used it off and on for several months.

Andrea said: “I’ve had Banjo and his brother since they were puppies and they’re both seven years old, but I’ve kept Bernese Mountain Dogs for years.

“I know you can’t walk them like you can walk a spaniel or a terrier. Especially when it’s as hot as Friday, you can’t take them out.”

Andrea and her family were away for the weekend. The dog sitter was assigned to go to the family home to let the dogs out as agreed.

Andrea said: “I had never given the sitter permission to walk my dogs. We were getting ready to leave the house by 4 p.m. and by 8 p.m. Banjo was dead.

“The dog sitter called me in a panic to say that Banjo had collapsed. I asked where they were and was told around town.

“I couldn’t believe what I was hearing and asked why they brought the dogs into town and they told me they brought the dogs into town in a car. I didn’t hear anything until the vets called to say my dog ​​was dead.”

The family quickly packed up their things and rushed home. Now they want to find out what happened to their beloved animal in those four hours.

Andrea said: “The dog sitter should let the dogs in and out all day. They had a lovely day with their dog ice cream in the shade of the garden and then came in to lie down on the nice cool tiles in the kitchen while the oscillating fan was running.

“The dog sitter was supposed to come to let them out around 8pm so I don’t even know why they were even out with my dogs. The dogs are really big and friendly and people want to come and see them.”

She said people may have noticed the dogs and could give her more information to find out exactly what happened.

“I want to know what happened to my dog ​​and where he went. We had only seen him four hours ago and the next time we saw him he was dead on the vet’s table.

“The vets told us when they got to the car to get Banjo out, the car was like a sauna. He was dead when he got there.”