MP ‘s Talks with Water Authority Brings Closure to Dog Owner
Readers will remember the story we carried early in the year when a dog fell down an open drain and drowned. The tragedy was compounded by the hole being filled in and the dog left buried.
This has tormented the owner since as she wanted the dog to be recovered and properly cremated so that she could keep the ashes in memory of her beloved pet.
You have to accept the hole needing to be covered immediately to prevent further accidents to humans but to leave the dog buried is a bit distasteful and one can uderstand the owner fighting for her dog to be recovered.
Miss Daniels of Clanny Road has tried without success until she contacted our MP Phil Wilson who took up the case, with Northumbrian Water who have agreed to remove the animal from the watercourse for cremation.
The following is an extract from the letter from Northumbrian Water:
“I can only begin to imagine how distressing this situation has been for Miss Daniels and would like to pass on my sincere condolences at this very difficult time.
We first became aware of the situation on 18 May 2015 when we received a report that a dog had possibly fallen into a manhole located in a field near to Gilpin Road, Newton Aycliffe. Our sewerage team attended site the following day to inspect the area in an attempt to locate the missing dog. We checked the manholes on the public sewerage system and although we did find a defective manhole cover which we repaired, we do not believe that it would have been possible for the dog to enter the sewerage network at that location.
We carried out further investigations on 24 and 25 August 2015 which included closed circuit television inspections (CCTV) of the public sewerage system in the area and did not find any evidence of the missing dog. On 26 August 2015 we carried out a joint inspection of a wider area with Durham County Council and identified a culverted watercourse in the field which is the responsibility of Gleeson Homes.
Upon further investigation, the officers from the council identified that the missing dog was inside a manhole chamber which is part of the culverted watercourse. I understand that arrangements are now in place to safely transport Zack to the pet crematorium and I hope that this will bring some closure to Miss Daniels”.
