Caged animals: The pedigree dogs are still in metal containers after being seized from their owners from a removal van on a 200-mile journeyTwo prize winning dog breeders may face prosecution after they loaded 12 pedigree dogs into a removal lorry for a 200-mile journey in sweltering 30c heat.
Alan and Julie Weatherley, who were placed at Crufts in 2005 with one of their dogs, were planning to travel from London to Doncaster in a house move when they were stopped by police.
Officers found the Airedale terriers stacked in cages in sweltering temperatures with little or no ventilation. They were alongside furniture and other possessions.
Cruel: Police are considering prosecuting the couple after the dogs were recovered from the lorry with no ventilation or windows on one of the hottest days of the yearThe couple, who are both Kennel Club accredited Airedale breeders, could now be prosecuted for animal cruelty.
Officers were called after a complaint from a neighbour on Tuesday that one of the caged dogs had fallen off the wagon into the road.
With temperatures soaring as high as 28.8c, the dogs were unloaded in the street and the Weatherleys were forced to make their journey to Yorkshire without them.
Questioned: A man is held by police after the dogs were seized from the removal lorry after the vehicle was deemed 'potentially dangerous'A policeman at the scene said the removals lorry had little or no ventilation, but had been told the couple planned to stop every half an hour on the journey to walk and water the animals.
A spokesman for the RSPCA said: 'Any dog owner needs to ensure that their dogs are transported in comfortable and safe conditions, and this means that they must be kept cool and not be too cramped. If it can be proven that dogs were caused suffering then owners can be prosecuted.'
Inspection: Police look inside the removal van, which was being driven from London to Doncastersource: dailymail
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