A cheating husband who left his pet dog to “cook to death” in his hot car while he visited his mistress will be allowed to keep dogs again, a court has ruled.

James MacDonald, 42, of Powder Mill Lane, Whitton, was at a B & B in Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, on August 8, while his rottweiler Sasha was locked in his BMW.

MacDonald was visiting a girlfriend at the time and left his dog in the car for two hours in temperatures of more than 22°C as the pet was not allowed inside, Banbury Magistrates’ Court heard.

Paddy Roche, prosecuting, told the court the landlady of the guesthouse saw MacDonald pull into the car park and leave the black and brown dog in the vehicle before visiting an eastern European woman.

When she left to go to the shops, she noticed the "distressed" rottweiler panting in the back of the saloon car.

Mr Roche added: "It was panting badly with long drawn out pants. Only one of the rear windows was open and it was open by two inches."

The RSPCA were called and they contacted police.

"A PCSO arrived first and, with the help of the landlady's husband, smashed in the driver's window of the car," added Mr Roche.

"They described the heat of the inside of the car as being like an Aga oven."

The court heard a vet clambered inside the vehicle and found Sasha wedged in a footwell under the driver's seat, where she had desperately tried to escape from the blistering heat and intense sunlight. Six bottles of water were discovered inside but all the tops had been left screwed on.

After her body was pulled out of the car a temperature reading was taken using a thermometer which had a maximum of 42 degrees centigrade but the mercury shot straight off the scale.

Four hours after her dead body was found her core temperature read 43 degrees - five degrees more than what a normal dog her size should have been.

A postmortem examination found the dog had suffered multiple organ failure due to the overwhelming heat.

MacDonald told RSPCA inspector Will Rippon that he "loved that dog so much" and wished he could turn the clock back and Shirley Selby, defending, said the death had been caused by a "total error of judgement" and MacDonald was devastated.

He admitted a charge of causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal and was fined £574 and banned from keeping animals for a year.

Magistrate Eileen Bussell said: "While we accept it was not a deliberate act, you acted in complete negligence by not ensuring you checked on the welfare of the dog when you were away."

Mr Rippon said: “It is very upsetting to think that Sasha died desperately trying to escape the heat.

“I have no doubt that the defendant regrets what happened but, like many people, he just didn’t think it would happen to his dog.

“I hope that this tragic case shows people that their beloved pets really can die a horrible death if left in a car in warm weather, and it can happen to anyone.”

On Monday police dog handler PC Mark Johnson pleaded not guilty to killing his two German shepherds by leaving them in a car on one of the hottest days of the year. He will go on trial at Nottingham Magistrates' Court next February.

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