Jonathan Theobald, 66, said he 'misjudged the weather very badly' when he left pets Daisy, Rascal and Mitch in Peterborough
A PET owner breaks down in tears as he tells how he accidentally cooked his three dogs to death after leaving them in the car.
Jonathan Theobald said he "misjudged the weather very badly" when he left pets Daisy, Rascal and Mitch for almost five hours while he went to the gym in Peterborough.
It had been a warm day but was overcast and was not particularly hot, an RSPCA spokesman said.
When Mr Theobald returned to his Volkswagen estate he discovered what had happened to his Staffordshire Bull Terrier crosses.
Jonathan, 66, said: "When I opened the back it was obvious that two dogs were dead and the one dog was floppy and loose.
"That was Daisy.
"I got all three dogs out of the car and spent, I don't know, I wasn't watching the clock, but probably at least 30 minutes trying to do CPR on Daisy."
The warning comes as Britain gears up for the hottest day of the year - with temperatures set to reach 30C.
His voice breaking, he continued: "She'd have been the last to die and the one to suffer most, and that's painful to think about."
Mr Theobald, prosecuted by the RSPCA, volunteered to film the video with the animal charity in the hope of raising awareness of the dangers of leaving dogs in cars.
He said: "The weather can change quickly and a car can become lethal, I've discovered that the hard way.
"If in doubt, leave your dogs at home."
All three of his dogs died on June 16, 2016.
Mr Theobald admitted causing unnecessary suffering to his three pets by confining them in an environment which was detrimental to their well-being and led to their death.
He was given a 18-week prison sentence suspended for two years, banned from keeping animals for 10 years and ordered to pay £1,900 in fines and costs at a hearing at Peterborough Magistrates' Court in September 2016.
The RSPCA has released the video interview to launch its annual Dogs Die in Hot Cars campaign, ahead of Dogs Die in Hot Cars Awareness Day on the May 29 Bank Holiday Monday.
In 2016, the RSPCA's emergency hotline received 7,187 calls about animals in hot environments - the majority of which were regarding dogs.
While this is down from 8,779 the previous year, the charity said the number is still worryingly high.
RSPCA inspector Justin Stubbs, who investigated Daisy, Rascal and Mitch's deaths, said: "It's staggering to think that more than 7,000 people called us last year due to concerns about animals in the heat and most of these will have been dogs left in cars.
"Our message has been loud and clear for years: don't leave dogs alone in parked cars on warm days."
He urged people to dial 999 if they spot a distressed animal in a vehicle.
