When Nathan Wilson and his partner, Dean Bradley, went to pick up their dogs after their Christmas vacation, they never expected to only get one back.

But as soon as they arrived at Jane’s Pet Resort in Newcastle, New South Wales, the owner of the boarding kennel bluntly told them in front of their 11-year-old son that their dog Baron was dead. He was only three years old and completely healthy when they dropped him and their other 16-year-old dog Charlotte off. After just six days there, he was gone.

“The staff said that they had checked on our dogs 15 minutes ago and that they were fine — this was a lie,” Wilson said. When he later took Baron’s body to the vet, Wilson was told that he had been dead for hours, and that heat stroke and dehydration were the cause. Charlotte was also suffering from heat stroke and collapsed on the floor when they brought her home. Wilson believes the facility did nothing to keep them cool in the heat of the Australian summer.

Charlotte is fortunately doing better now, but they will never get Baron back. What’s even more heartbreaking is that they had adopted him to help their own two adopted sons adjust to their new life.

Facebook / Nathan Wilson

“These boys have had a hard start – so this has really upset them – because of their background they don’t handle this kind of loss and grief very well,” Wilson told Daily Mail.

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Stephen Williams, owner of Jane’s Pet Resort, says that Baron’s death shocked him just as much, but he doesn’t believe his staff did anything wrong. He also claims that the dogs had access to water.

Facebook / Nathan Wilson