Dog dies in motel breakout
A woman is devastated her dog was killed after escaping from a Hamilton pet motel.
Angela Middleton’s dog Luna went missing from Longtail Pet Motel in Te Rapa on Wednesday, but the pet motel’s owners say they did everything they reasonably could to keep the dog in.
Middleton dropped Luna off at 9am for a 24-hour stay to help socialise her.
By 3.30pm, the 18-month-old Doberman-British Bulldog cross was missing and most likely had a few hours’ headstart on her searchers.
The facility was closed from about noon to 3pm and no one was on the property.
‘‘It appears that Luna has scaled a wall and got through a very narrow gap,’’ Middleton said.
‘‘She pushed up a grating to get into the next cage, which had no roof.’’
She had told Longtail staff that Luna could be an escape artist, but it was the dog’s fourth visit to the facility, so Middleton felt comfortable leaving her there.
‘‘I’ve raised her like a child. I’ve got a tiny little fence that keeps her in.
‘‘She can jump it, but she doesn’t. She knows the rules at home.’’
On Friday morning, Middleton received a call to say that Luna had been found dead in Horotiu.
‘‘She’s been hit by a train. She seems to have been dead from the time she was missing.’’
Longtail Pet Motel owner Kevin Wilmshurst said that the staff are devastated that Luna was found dead.
‘‘The reality is we did everything poss- ible.
‘‘The dog was a problem dog and that has been admitted by the people.
‘‘Because of the separation anxiety, it wasn’t something that was straightforward,’’ Wilmshurst said.
Wilmshurst was sad that the dog had been killed and the business was trying to help Middleton as much as possible, but the motel wasn’t accepting responsibility for the dog’s death.
‘‘We are disappointed and we’ve expressed that to the owners.
‘‘We’re actually working with them to help them cremate the dog.
‘‘We’re not accepting responsibility for it, but we are certainly trying to support the owners as it’s a sad time.’’
He said that the buildings and fences were up to standard, but there were always difficulties dealing with animals.