An unlicensed dog boarder has been spared jail after a 10.5-stone Leonberger named Hero died when left unattended on a hot summer's day in Braintree, Essex. Charlotte Sutton, 26, left the double-coated dog for a significant period without monitoring him, causing him to overheat on August 2, 2024.
Owner's heartbreak and legal outcome
Owner Leighanne Ship said she had previously left her dog with Sutton but decided to return home a day early due to the summer heat. However, they received a call from Sutton saying Hero was motionless and did not get home in time to say goodbye. Sutton was prosecuted by Braintree District Council, which had repeatedly explained the legal requirements for dog boarders to her.
At Chelmsford Magistrates' Court on July 15, she was found guilty of causing unnecessary suffering and pleaded guilty to operating an animal boarding business without a license. Sutton received a 26-week prison sentence, suspended for two years, and was ordered to complete 150 hours of unpaid work and pay £10,000 towards prosecution costs.
Family's anger and grief
Leighanne said: 'We just feel so much rage and anger that someone could just blatantly lie with so much disrespect for the people they're taking the money from, and then not delivering proper care of the animals at all.' She added that the family was sad not to be able to say goodbye to Hero. She told the BBC: 'When your dog dies you expect to be with them at the end, to be able to comfort them in their last moments. That for us has been the hardest part of everything. [It] was the guilt that we felt leaving him with her and not being with him at the end and him being alone and us not being able to comfort him in his final hours.'
