Bride Devastated As Beloved Pug Dies After Being Left In Van As She Celebrated Wedding
A bride is mourning the loss of her beloved pug, who died on her wedding day after being left in a scorching hot van.
Ffion James and Ben Hill - from the village of Preston, near Stevenage, Hertfordshire - tied the knot on Friday (8 July), with their dog Luna a guest of honour for their confetti walk; but just hours later, Luna had died.
The couple had arranged for a kennels to look after her after the ceremony, but she was left in a van for two hours on one of the hottest days of the year, and she passed away.
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"I'm absolutely devastated and still can't bring myself to look at the photos," 30-year-old Ffion told The Mirror.
"To think my Luna was dying in the back of a van while we were celebrating is just too horrific to contemplate."
The couple were supposed to be taking Luna on their honeymoon, but they've now cancelled the celebration while they grieve the loss of their pet.
"It was just so hot that it wasn't fair on Luna so we asked for her to be collected by the kennels, to be brought back," Ffion explained.
"We woke to find out our beautiful little puggy had died shortly after these photos were taken.
"They put her in a van, parked in their car park and then just forgot about her. Poor Luna died in what was basically an oven."
The kennels has issued an apology, but Ffion wants the business to be closed down.
She said: "The weather would have made the van unbearably hot, and I can't imagine the suffering she must have gone through.
"Everyone who knows us knows that we adored our little Luna and we are completely traumatised that we have lost her too soon. But also in such a horrific and unimaginable way. She was our baby, best friend and entire world.
"We can't believe she is gone and what should have been the best weekend of our lives is now ruined and a living nightmare."
Renate Burrowes, who co-owns Country Boarding for Cats and Dogs with her husband Jeremy, said they were 'completely heartbroken' by Luna's death.
She said: "Jeremy picked little Luna up from her owners' wedding venue and brought her back to the kennels at 3pm.
"When he arrived back he was urgently called in to fix a system issue which was affecting customers in reception.
"This distracted Jeremy from notifying a staff member to come and collect the dog, as would be the normal procedure. Two hours later, I found Luna in the van at 5pm.
"I found she was unresponsive at that time despite trying, I could not revive her."
She added: "We have been in contact with the owners about the next steps, which is a private matter and whilst we know we can't bring Luna back, we will work with them to ensure we help and support them in any way we can.
"Whilst it sounds an unimaginable mistake to make, humans make mistakes and all we can do now is learn from this incident.
"The blame for this incident lies entirely with us, as the business owners and not with our wonderful employees."
Jake Massey