A young family’s caravan break in Kilwinning turned into a holiday from hell when their beloved dog drowned.
Tragedy struck when their seven-year-old Staffordshire bull terrier, Tara, escaped from their caravan at Viewfield Manor Holiday Park and drowned in a sewage pool nearby.
Kerryann White, her partner Michael Kelly and their three kids Eden, 5, Jessica, 4 and baby Regan have been left heartbroken.
Kerryann explained: “I went to put the baby down and when I came back the kids and Tara were gone.
“We found the kids and once we got them back to my gran at the caravan we went to look for Tara.
“We kept searching all through the night then Jessica said she was in the dungeon.
“I was up all night with worry.”
Michael found Tara drowned the following morning.
He said: “I went back to the sewage drains. There was nothing keeping me out and no fence around the pools. Then I spotted Tara’s leg.”
Kerryann tearfully added: “Tara loves water but she’s not a strong swimmer.
“When I saw it was her I just burst out crying.
“The kids grew up with Tara and then watched her die.
“Our four-year-old Jessica told us she followed Tara down the steps but got scared and ran away.
“It hurt so much it was the dog but it hurts more knowing it could have been one of my kids or another child out there.”
She said: “We accept full responsibility for Tara getting out but we do not accept responsibility for her drowning in faeces. Tara was so special. She didn’t deserve this.”
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A spokesperson for Viewfield Manor Holiday Park said: “Our deepest condolences go out to the White family for the tragic loss of their beloved pet.
“When her disappearance was reported to us we quickly took details of her description and alerted all staff on the park.
“We do clearly state that all dogs must be on leads at all times when on our parks. However, we do understand that accidents happen and we were very saddened to hear that this accident ended tragically.
“We offered our condolences to the family and made sure our maintenance staff located the dog and delivered her back to them, at their request, wrapped in a blanket.
“At no point were we rude or unsympathetic to what was a very distressing situation.”
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