Bystanders in Harrogate had to smash a car window today to free four dogs who were trapped for 40 minutes without even a window open.

Ruth Watson and her partner had been shopping at Aldi on Oak Beck Road at around midday when they spotted the labradors who were visibly distressed and barking in the sweltering heat, which has topped 38 degrees today.

Dogs in hot cars can suffer from potentially fatal heat stroke in as little as 15 minutes.

Ms Watson told the Stray Ferret she went inside B&Q, which is next door to the supermarket, to ask staff to broadcast a message on the tannoy to try and find the owner but there was no response.

A group had congregated around the car with people bringing buckets of water ready to cool them down.

She said:

“It is upsetting. I got a little upset but I was more angry than anything else.”

Quick thinking staff at the DIY store used a hammer to smash open the window and set the animals free.

Read more:

• LIVE: Harrogate district businesses close as temperatures approach 39 degrees
• Harrogate blogger devastated after scammers blackmail her

Fortunately, there were vets working at the nearby Pets At Home who were able to give the animals immediate medical attention. However, one of the dogs had to be carried away and Ms Watson said it looked in poor health.

The owner eventually came out to the car but Ms Watson said “He seemed oblivious like he’d done nothing wrong.”

She added:

“He’s not a responsible dog owner. Questions should be asked if he’s competent enough to have animals”.

Abi Linden was also shopping at the time and spotted the incident take place. She said what she saw was “appalling” and called on the police to take action against the owner.

She said:

“The sheer stupidity in leaving the dogs in this heat without even windows open. It made me so angry”.

A North Yorkshire Police officer was believed to have attended the scene. The Stray Ferret has asked NYP for comment on the incident. We have also asked the vets for an update on the dogs.

An innovative new physio and hydrotherapy centre for dogs is set to open in Harrogate next month.

Veterinary physiotherapist Sophie Brook is hoping to launch the facility on Skipton Road at the end of August.

The first of its kind in Harrogate, it will offer physiotherapy, rehabilitation hydrotherapy, fun and fitness swims and puppy confidence swims.

Ms Brook, who owns The Harrogate Vet Physio, has been working on a mobile basis for the last two years, treating dogs and horses.

She has spent that time looking for a suitable location to be able to also offer hydrotherapy, which she currently practises at a centre in Brighouse.

And she finally found the perfect unit at Dragon Court Business Park, which will offer a 6m x 2.5m heated dog swimming pool and a physio room.

Ms Brook, who studied veterinary physiotherapy for four years, said:

“I always wanted a pool because hydrotherapy is so good for dogs. The pool is getting fitted next month and hopefully it will be open at the end of August.

“It can help with problems such as arthritis in older dogs and hip and elbow dysplasia. There are also things like cruciate injuries that be helped through physio and hydrotherapy.”

Ms Brook said the swimming sessions were aimed at helping puppies and dogs gain confidence in the water, as not all are natural swimmers.

She said:

“You would be surprised how many dogs can’t swim. For some it’s not a natural ability. It also helps puppies gain confidence around water so if they fall in, they don’t go into full panic mode.

“I’m really excited to launch the new centre. People in Harrogate are big dog lovers, so it is the ideal place to do it.”

A signed referral form is needed for all of the sessions, including fun and puppy swims, and can be found here.

A secure 3-acre woodland and meadow where dogs can safely roam off-lead away opens today at Hopewell Dog Park.

The dog park, which is located in a rural setting to the north of the Knaresborough, was set up by Rebekah Mudd two years ago for nervous dogs to play away from other dogs or people.

Owners can hire the woodland and will have the whole area to themselves.

The site has secure 6ft high fencing so dogs with little or no recall can’t escape. It means they are free to wander, play and sniff without the owner worrying.

The woodland and meadow is the latest addition to the dog park. It already has an adventure field with obstacles, an obedience field with agility equipment and an indoor barn.

For the new wooded area, owners pay a fee of £9 for 30 minutes or £15 for an hour. To hire the fields, prices start at £6.50 for 30 minutes.

All the areas are completely private, so you won’t have to share them with other dogs.

Ms Mudd said:

“People love the security and privacy of it. You can let the dog run around and have a picnic and the owner knows the dog is not going to escape.

“It’s for everyone, even if you have a well-behaved dog who has good recall, there is lots to do and lots to sniff”.

For more information about the dog park or to book a session, visit its website.

Read more:

• Harrogate firefighters rescue dogs from hot car
• Rags to riches: stray dog from Harrogate stars in Legally Blonde musical

Harrogate firefighters rescued two dogs yesterday when they got stuck in a car on one of the hottest days of the year.

The car self-locked when the owner went into the boot and was unable to get back into the vehicle shortly after 11am.

With the temperature rising, and the dogs still in the back of the car, the owner summoned help.

The fire crew was called to the incident at Harlow Carr Gardens, Harrogate.

North Yorkshire Fore and Rescue Service’s incident log says:

“Crews cooled the vehicle with one hose reel jet, then released the dogs using a glass punch and gave water to them.”

Read more:

• Fire destroys BMW on A1 near Boroughbridge
• Ripon firefighters save pony stuck in mud

A quirky café where you can grab a slice of cake and cuddle a chihuahua is set to open in Harrogate this month.

Billed as ‘England’s first interactive chihuahua experience’, The Chihuahua Lounge is aimed at boosting mental health with pet assisted therapy.

The venue, on Knaresborough Road, is expected to open on weekends from Saturday, May 14.

Customers will be able to book a 50-minute session at the café, on Knaresborough Road, and chill out with a coffee in the company of six cute long-haired chihuahuas.

Picnic and her puppies Badger, Lambie, Potter, Peony and Lucy, all bred and raised by café founder Caroline Leather, will roam free within the building.

Ms Leather said she wanted to share the benefits that she gains from her own affectionate pack of chihuahuas.

She explained that this is how the concept of a ‘home-from-home interactive chihuahua experience’ with lounge seating, coffee, cakes and cuddles was born.

Ms Leather said:

“The Chihuahua Lounge is a friendly, safe haven, away from the hustle and bustle of modern life.

“We are passionate about animal assisted therapy, which has shown that spending time with dogs not only reduces your heart rate and blood pressure, but is good for mental health.

“We offer an extensive menu of hot and cold drinks, freshly baked cakes and have cosy sofas, arm chairs and foot stools, so you can kick off your shoes and curl up for a cuddle.”

The experience costs £10 per person. This contributes towards the cost of the specific qualifications needed to exhibit the animals, as well as the strict animal welfare and licensing laws.

Read more:

• Harrogate’s Hustle & Co for sale as owners hatch new plan
• YouTuber raves about Knaresborough and Harrogate takeaways

For the safety of the dogs, only children over the age of six are permitted.

Ms Leather said:

“Our dogs love human attention and we have made sure that the café is a home-from-home for them.

“They also have their own private room where they are free to wander in and out as they please.

“We do not force our dogs to be in the lounge area with our guests. When the dogs are in the lounge space, they are there out of choice, and we intend to always keep it that way.

Ms Leather explained that the dogs also have weekly health checks and  behavioural studies are conducted on each animal regularly to ensure their behaviour in the café demonstrates that of a happy and relaxed dog.

She added:

“If it does not, we take them out of the café environment.

“We have a set of house rules to protect the dogs welfare that have to be adhered to by all customers.

“We also limit the capacity of our café to ensure the dogs are not overcrowded.”

A charity is seeking dog lovers to help look after pets across the Harrogate district.

The Cinnamon Trust matches walkers and foster carers to owners who are no longer able to care for their pets alone.

They may be elderly or undergoing medical treatment which prevents them from going out for walks each day. In some cases, the owner may be moving into a care home or facing the end of their life and looking for someone to look after their pet in the long term.

Mandy Scott, appeals coordinator at the trust, said:

“We need more volunteers in the Harrogate area. We’ve got seven volunteers already. There are three long-term foster pets, and across Yorkshire there are 114 pets with 795 volunteers.”

The charity, which was founded in 1985, matches each pet and owner with a team of volunteers. This means there is less pressure on a volunteer to walk a dog every day and there is always cover if anyone is unwell or goes on holiday.

Flexible arrangement

Volunteers can give as much or as little time as they are able, even down to a single half-hour or hour long walk each week, and Ms Scott said the trust recognises that people’s availability can change over time.

When an owner dies or moves into a care home and can’t take their pet, a long-term foster place is found among the volunteers. The trust keeps in touch with all foster carers and helps to coordinate any vet treatment required. Pets which are older and need more care can be rehomed at one of the charity’s two sanctuaries in the south-west, where they receive 24-hour care.

Read more:

• ‘Just use a bin’: volunteers appeal over increasing litter in the Pinewoods
• Memoirs of former Ripon mayor to raise money for charity

Volunteer walkers range from teenagers completing their Duke of Edinburgh awards – with support from a parent – to people in their 80s who are still active. Each is checked via references from people who have known them over many years.

Ms Scott added:

“It’s about their experience, their empathy with the older generation, their experience with animals and how they will manage in a crisis. We ask them to complete a form and they can elaborate if they want to – you get a good feel for people that way.”

Once matched, owners are slowly introduced to volunteers, who use ID badges when meeting them in person to give reassurance that they are sent by the Cinnamon Trust. The process of finding the right volunteers after a request for help can be onerous, but Ms Scott said it is worth it to give someone peace of mind.

“It’s an absolute privilege to be able to say you’ve got that extra help, you can close the appeal. You talk to an owner and they say, ‘once I had spoken to you, I felt a weight lift off my shoulders’.

“We do what it says on the tin. We provide that extra help and reassurance.”

For more information about volunteering with The Cinnamon Trust, click here.

Two dogs had to be rescued when they fell down a hole while their owner was walking them near Pateley Bridge.

Mountain rescuers from Upper Wharfedale Fell Rescue Association were called when the owner, who has not been named, was unable to help the dogs escape.

The incident happened at Guise Cliff, near Glasshouses in Nidderdale, shortly after 2pm on Wednesday. Seven rescuers were in attendance for more than two hours.

Read more:

• Woman visiting daughter’s grave issues dog fouling plea
• Stray Pets Rescue Club: Will, Jerry, Link and Mystic are in need of loving homes

The association’s incident log said:

“Once there, the team set up a rope system allowing them to abseil down and rescue little Terrier Pippet, and fox red Labrador Pidge.

“Apart from being a little dirty the dogs were unharmed and were able to carry on with their walk home with a very grateful owner.”

Rescuers head down the hole.

Pidge is brought to the surface.

Pharmall Country Store in Killinghall has urged dog owners not to bring their pets into the shop due to a mystery virus.

There have been widespread reports of vomiting and diarrhoea affecting dogs across Yorkshire, including in Harrogate, in recent weeks.

The shop on Otley Road, which sells pet food and animal supplies, posted on its Facebook page yesterday that it has made the decision to reduce the chance of the virus spreading.

It said:

Read more:

• Harrogate vet sees big rise in dogs with mystery illness

• Charity Corner: Masham charity on its ‘vocation’ to save dogs

The Harrogate Vet, on Leeds Road, told the Stray Ferret this month that its vets had seen a three-fold increase in dogs with gastroenteritis.

Sarah Woods, one of the vets at the practice, said:

“It is not unusual for viruses to spread but this is different in terms of the sheer number of unwell dogs we are treating — around a dozen a day.

“We do not want dog owners to panic or change anything they are doing.

“Dogs that have symptoms of vomiting and diarrhoea just need to avoid popular areas to prevent the spread.”

Harrogate Borough Council has this week submitted a plan to build a pet crematorium at Stonefall Cemetery.

It follows the lead of councils in North East Lincolnshire and Barnsley, which have already opened or started work on pet crematoriums.

Harrogate council currently charges £36 to collect dead pets from people’s homes.

Currently, the closest pet crematoriums are in either Thirsk or Skipton.

The crematorium at Harrogate would be built inside a converted shipping container.

The plans also include converting a storage building at Stonefall into a “goodbye room”, where owners can say their final farewells to their pets before they are cremated.

A decision on the proposal will be made at a later date.

Read more:

• Public health boss ‘cautiously optimistic’ worst of Omicron wave is over
• Stray Views: Harrogate Tesco would be ‘horrendous’ for nearby residents\

A Harrogate vet has warned dog owners to avoid popular walking spots if their pets have symptoms of a mystery illness spreading across town.

There have been widespread reports of vomiting and diarrhoea among dogs that have been to the East Yorkshire coast in the last week. However, dogs have also caught the virus in Harrogate.

The Harrogate Vet, on Leeds Road, told the Stray Ferret that its vets have seen a three-fold increase in dogs with gastroenteritis in the last week.

Sarah Woods, one of the vets at the practice, said:

“It is not unusual for viruses to spread but this is different in terms of the sheer number of unwell dogs we are treating — around a dozen a day.

“We do not want dog owners to panic or change anything they are doing.

“Dogs that have symptoms of vomiting and diarrhoea just need to avoid popular areas to prevent the spread.”

Ms Woods added that most dogs they have seen have responded well to treatment.

Kelly Anne, who owns a miniature schnauzer called Pepper, said her dog became unwell after a walk around the Skipton Road area of Harrogate. She said:

“She has really not been herself at all, it has just been really sad to see.

“Last night I saw her stomach contracting and how much pain she was in. It made me cry.”

Read more:

• Andrew Jones MP welcomes pause in smart motorway rollout
• First look at Harrogate cafe helping disabled people into jobs

Nicky Shamir, who works as a hypnotherapist, recently took her cockapoo Barney for a walk round Harrogate’s Valley Gardens. She said:

“On the way back he started with diarrhoea and when I managed to get him home he just slept.

“He is just eight months old so it was really unusual and I took him to the vet. We have now got him on some medication and he is starting to improve.”

Kirsty Atkinson owns three cocker spaniels called Isla, Miley and Jet. She told the Stray Ferret:

“One started being ill on Tuesday evening then the other Wednesday and last one started yesterday.

“The only place they have been walked is around the block we live on Harlow Avenue and the bit of parkland at the end of Hartley Road so we could only have picked it up there.

“It’s a bit worrying but more reassuring that we maybe know it’s just gastroenteritis and that they should be better within a few days.”