A man left his dog locked in a car for 12 hours while he was on a night out in Carmarthen.
Police had to break a window to the car to rescue the pooch.
Ron Gillespie pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to a Staffordshire type Bull Terrier in Carmarthen on June 4.
Llanelli Magistrates' Court heard the 27-year-old, from Llandeilo, had gone out for the night and left the dog in his vehicle until almost 4.30pm the following day.
Llanelli Magistrates' Court heard the 27-year-old, from Llandeilo, had gone out for the night and left the dog in his vehicle until almost 4.30pm the following day.
Prosecutor Sharon Anderson said: "At 3pm a member of the public, the owner of a dog grooming business, called the police to report a dog in an unattended vehicle. He had been walking back to the car when his attention was drawn to a vehicle parked in one of the bays and he could hear barking. He could see the Staffordshire Bull Terrier. He was concerned as it was a warm day and there was no water and all the windows were closed."
'The dog was distressed'
The court heard the man then looked at the temperature in his own car and could see the reading was 19°C. Community officers then made their way to the car.
Mrs Anderson said: "Officers could see the dog was distressed and jumping between seats. His tongue was hanging out and there was no evidence of food or water and no ventilation. Officers attempted to make contact with the owner but there was no answer on his phone."
They then smashed the rear window and the dog was let out and given water.
The court heard officers stayed with the dog until Gillespie returned to the car at 4.20pm.After being arrested Gillespie admitted he had left the car in Carmarthen the night before and decided to leave it there after drinking too much.
Mrs Anderson said he returned to the car at 2am to give the dog food and water but then did not return again until after 4pm the next day. He admitted there was no ventilation in the car and the dog could have suffered as a result.
Mitigating solicitor Aled Owen said his client was feeling guilty and "very remorseful" as the animal is Gillespie's companion and goes with him everywhere.
'The dog didn't seem to have suffered'
He said: "He took some limited steps to deal with the matters, but not sufficient steps. It was short time negligence which didn't cause the animal to suffer long term." He knows what he did, and what he did was wrong.
"On the night he went for a drink and met a young lady and went back to her house. He came back at 2am to give the dog some food and water and then went out and spent the night with friends in Carmarthen.
"When the police were there the dog didn't want water and nothing in his behaviour suggested he had suffered in that respect.
"This was 12 hours, when he attended the officers were happy to let him have the dog back."It's a lesson learned by him."
Magistrates fined Gillespie £120, and ordered him to pay costs of £85, and a £30 surcharge. Gillespie was not banned from keeping animals.
see-http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/local-news/dog-freed-locked-car-after-11811766
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