A PET owner has spoken of her devastation after her Jack Russell was hit by a car on the A120 after escaping from a specialist pet hotel.

Elaine Jarvis left her brindle and white terrier, Poppy, at the Doggy Lodge, in Coggeshall Road, Braintree, while she jetted off to Benidorm on holiday.

But the day before she was due home, Poppy jumped up on to a chair and escaped through an open kitchen window.

Staff at a nearby garden centre tried to catch her, but she shot into the path of a car on the A120.

The impact broke Poppy’s spine and left her with swelling to the brain.

Millennium Vetinary Practice, in Millennium Way, Braintree, phoned Ms Jarvis, 32, who then made the “devastating” decision to put the dog down.

Ms Jarvis, of Brunell Road, Braintree, said: “It was terrible. My whole family were out there on holiday and we were devastated.

“The vet was sedating her as I was boarding the plane and they said I needed to make a decision. It has been awful.

“She was such a sweet dog and you could trust her with anyone.”

Doggy Lodge part-owners, husband and wife, Tony and Rachel Davies, said they were “heartbroken” over the incident.

They refunded Ms Jarvis the cost of Poppy’s stay, and also covered the vet’s and cremation bills and said they had been visited by Braintree Council’s dog warden to check they had not breached their kennel licence.

Mr Davies said: “It’s a tragic accident. As a home-boarding centre, we run all the risks of any normal home. We are allowed to open the windows, but we didn’t know she would try to get out.

“We have learned from what has happened and any dog that’s slightly nervous now, we won’t have them.

“We feel sick and heartbroken because we know how we would feel if it was our dog.”