For many of us, mobile phones and social media have become indispensable parts of our daily lives.
However, they can also easily distract us from focusing on our tasks, which could lead to undesirable consequences.
Regrettably, that was what happened to Sabrina Sim Xin Huey. The 30-year-old dog trainer forgetfully left two bulldogs in her car boot after being distracted by a social media post.
The dogs reportedly died from heat stress after being left in the car for nearly two hours.
On Thursday (5 May), the dog trainer pleaded guilty and will return to court for sentencing on 1 Jun.
According to TODAY, the owner of the two bulldogs, Chocoby and Hunniby, hired Ms Sim to train them in Jan 2020. The dogs would stay with Ms Sim throughout the training period.
On 25 Aug 2020, Ms Sim placed the dogs in her car boot after a training session and drove home.
Image courtesy of Ms Tay Jun Yi
After reaching the open-air car park at about 2.30pm, she saw a social media post about her former customer’s dog getting bitten by another dog.
The post distracted Ms Sim, and she forgot about the two dogs in the boot. She then alighted from the car and locked it.
It was only 1.5 hours later at 4pm that she remembered she had left the bulldogs in the boot.
Unfortunately, when she ran to her car, she found the dogs unresponsive, reports Channel NewsAsia (CNA).
Ms Sim quickly took the dogs to a nearby veterinary clinic, but by the time they arrived, the animals were pronounced dead.
A post-mortem examination of one of the dogs’ tissue samples supported the diagnosis of heat stress as the cause of death.
The report stated that the dog had been in a stressful state before it died, as evidenced by its increased turnover of red blood cells.
TODAY reports that Ms Sim immediately apologised to Chocoby and Hunniby’s owner on the day of the incident. She also paid an undisclosed amount of compensation.
On Thursday (5 May), Ms Sim pleaded guilty to one charge of failing to take reasonable steps to ensure the dogs were not subjected to unreasonable or unnecessary pain or suffering. Another similar charge was also taken into consideration.
Ms Sim will be back in court for sentencing on 1 Jun. She could face a maximum fine of S$40,000 and/or up to two years’ jail.
This was truly a tragic incident, especially since the bulldogs’ deaths could have easily been avoided if not for Ms Sim’s carelessness.
This should also serve as a reminder for all pet trainers and owners to always be attentive and take extra care of their animals.
We hope that Ms Sim will learn from her mistake so that history will not repeat itself. MS News sends our deepest condolences to the family of Chocoby and Hunniby.
Have news you must share? Get in touch with us via email at news@mustsharenews.com.
Featured image courtesy of Ms Tay Jun Yi.
The authorities have investigated and closed the incident with no follow-ups required, MFA said.
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