A Crufts dog trainer who left four pets in his car, causing three to overheat and die on a hot day, has been spared jail. Andrew Claridge-Fleming, 57, left the four gundogs in a crate in the back of his Land Rover Discovery for six hours in August 2023.
The trainer said he was unexpectedly called away to run an errand, and when he returned, three of the four dogs were dead after being left in 23C heat. Two of them, Milo, a six-month-old fox red Labrador, and a cocker spaniel called Bodger, belonged to clients. The fourth dog, which belonged to him, was rushed to a vet.
Claridge-Fleming claimed to have left the water, the door, and the boot open, but he believes that they were shut while he was away.
Bournemouth Crown Court heard Claridge-Fleming had taken the four dogs out for training in the morning and returned home at about 9am.
He left them around 10am and did not return until 4pm by which time three of the dogs had died from heatstroke and hyperthermia.
He pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to animals on a basis of plea, denying he was directly responsible for the deaths.
Claridge-Fleming claimed: “They were left in a crate in the back of the car with capacity for four dogs, two in each compartment. They were left with water, and I left the back door and boot open on my Land Rover Discovery.
“When I returned, I was shocked to find the boot had been closed. Three out of four had perished. I was distraught. I did what I could to cool Rocky down before taking him to the vet.
“I do not accept I am directly responsible for their deaths, but I do accept I left the dogs unattended for too long.”
The owner of one of the dogs, Rachael Helier, said she remained angry with Claridge-Fleming and that the incident had left her daughters “distraught”.
In a victim impact statement, she said: “Finding out our puppy had died was just awful, but knowing he died from being shut in a hot car in avoidable circumstances just made it worse.
“We understand accidents happen, but had Andrew Claridge-Fleming been apologetic or remorseful at the start of the process, we would likely have forgiven him.
“But his lying and being defensive, making us feel like we were being difficult, has made our anger towards him more pronounced.
Her Honour Judge Suzanne Evans KC handed Claridge-Fleming a 27-month prison sentence, suspended for 18 months.
She told him: “Your shocking lack of care for these dogs and negligence of them is what led to their deaths. They were left to suffer in the back of the car for six hours while you were distracted by a family emergency.
“Dogs are loving, trusting creatures who rely upon those who care for them, and you failed the dogs entirely.”
Claridge-Fleming was also ordered to do 180 hours of unpaid work and pay a victim surcharge and undisclosed costs.
RSPCA Inspector Patrick Bailey, said: “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.”