United Kingdom: Three dogs were slowly cooked alive when their owner, 65, left them in a hot car while he trained in the gym for FIVE HOURS

UNITED KINGDOM -- A dog owner has admitted causing the death of three pets after leaving them in his car for around five hours on a warm day while he went to the gym.

Jonathan Theobald pleaded guilty to causing the Staffordshire pit bull terrier-type dogs unnecessary suffering after being charged under the Animal Welfare Act.

The 65-year-old left Daisy, Mitch and Rascal in the vehicle parked outside Vivacity Gym in Peterborough for around five hours on June 16, with temperatures peaking at around 19C (66F), the RSPCA said.

Two of the dogs had already died by the time he returned to his car and he tried to save the third, the animal charity said.

'The dogs had been in the car alone for a number of hours,' RSPCA inspector Justin Stubbs said.

'They [the dogs] would have overheated. They may of have fits, they may have slowly cooked essentially, they would have been terrified, trapped. [It was] probably more of a emotional thing rather than a physical for those dogs.'

Preliminary post-mortem examinations showed the dogs died of heat exposure, the charity said, as it warned owners that conditions do not need to be overly hot to be fatal for an animal.

Mr Stubbs said: 'The weather was warm and it was humid but it wasn't hot that day. Met Office records show it was between 16C and 19C for the period of time these dogs were left.

'No-one leaves their dog to die in a car on purpose. But there is no good reason to even risk it by taking your dog in your car in warm weather and leaving it while you just pop into the shop or just pop into your doctor's appointment. 'Not long' is still too long.'

On the day the dogs were locked inside the car, temperatures outside peaked at 19C in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire.

The inside of a vehicle can reach temperatures 20C higher - meaning the dogs would have died in unbearable temperatures of almost 40C (104 degrees Fahrenheit) after being left without any water or ventilation.

Speaking after the case Mr Stubbs said: 'All to often we find people leaving their dogs in cars thinking they will be OK, I will only be five minutes, even thinking the dogs happier in the car rather than being home alone.

'This case is a genuine tragic accident, but it will happen again, people will think the dog will be OK - it wont.'

Speaking in Theobald's defence his solicitor Kevin Warboys said: 'This is a man with exemplary character, under the harrowing circumstances he responded as well as he could.'

Mr Warboys told the court that in a joint interview with the RSPCA and the police the following day he made a full admission.

He told officers 'I'm the one to blame, I made a terrible mistake.'

The RSPCA and 11 other animal welfare charities and organisations each year runs the Dogs Die in Hot Cars campaign to raise awareness of the dangers of leaving pets in vehicles, caravans, conservatories and outbuildings in warm weather.

A spokesman for the animal charity said: 'Many people still believe that it's OK to leave a dog in a car on a warm day if the windows are left open or they're parked in the shade, but the truth is, it's still a very dangerous situation for the dog.

'A car can become as hot as an oven very quickly, even when it doesn't feel that warm. Never leave your dog alone in a car on a warm day. If you see a dog in distress in a hot car, dial 999.'

Theobald, of Peterborough, appeared at Peterborough Magistrates' Court, where he admitted causing unnecessary suffering to the dogs by confining them in an environment which was detrimental to their well-being and led to their death.

He is due to be sentenced on September 28.

(Daily Mail - Sept 14, 2016)