A dog trainer left her client’s two bulldogs in a car after receiving news that another dog bit a dog she trained. She realised 1.5 hours later that the bulldogs were still in the car, but it was too late.
Sabrina Sim Xin Huey, 30, pleaded guilty on Thursday (May 5) to one charge under the Animals and Birds Act for failing to take reasonable steps to ensure that the dogs she was handling were not subjected to unreasonable or unnecessary pain or suffering.
It was reported that the bulldogs’ owner hired Sim to train the canines, which included both dogs staying with Sim throughout the training period.
On Aug 25, 2020, Sim arrived at the open carpark of her residence and got distracted by a social media post from her previous customer.
Sim left the car and locked it, completely forgetting about the two other passengers.
After 1.5 hours, Sim suddenly remembered she had left the two dogs in the boot of her hatchback.
She found the dogs unresponsive and spent another 30 minutes driving to a veterinary clinic, but both animals had already passed away.
According to a post-mortem examination of one of the dogs’ tissue samples, the cause of death was heat stress.
Sim is a dog trainer and needs to be held to a higher standard of care than the average person regarding pet handling, said Mr Andy Dinesh, prosecutor for the National Parks Board (NParks), in a Today report.
He added that it was unfortunate for Sim to leave the dogs out of forgetfulness, given that she was an accredited trainer.
Meanwhile, defence counsel Clement Julien Tan from Selvam LLC noted that Sim had handled the dogs professionally for 2.5 months before the incident.
WhatsApp messages between Sim and the bulldogs’ owner also indicated a positive working relationship, with the owner showing a high level of satisfaction with Sim’s services.
Reports noted that Sim had trained more than 200 dogs before and 45 dogs after the incident. She received no complaints and numerous positive feedback.
Forgetting gets “even the best among us,” added Mr Tan.
Sim apologised for the incident on the same day and handed over an undisclosed amount of compensation to show her remorse, said Mr Tan.
Sim works as a dog trainer to support herself and two elderly parents. She is scheduled to return to court for sentencing on June 1.
She can be sentenced to up to two years’ jail, fined up to S$40,000, or both. /TISG
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