Chorley's Heskin Hall management respond after customers threaten to boycott it over dog show fall out

While temperatures in Lancashire soared into the 30s on Saturday and high 20s on Sunday, Facebook was flooded with advice on how to stay safe.

Great Eccleston Dog Show made the decision to cancel their dog show on Saturday citing rising temperatures and pet’s safety for the reason.

However, Heskin Hall management decided to go ahead with their dog show on the Sunday posting on the Tuesday saying all vet recommended checks on the pavements had been carried out, dog water stations were set up alongside gazebos for shade.

This prompted a flurry of shock and outrage from a number of people who commented underneath the post.

Some of the comments were as follows:

“Absolutely unbelievable I have just come back from Italy and it’s hotter here than there.

“My dog is seriously struggling in the house so why would I put her in a car to parade her in a dog show for my entertainment.”

“It’s 26 degrees and rising locally. No responsible dog owner would travel and put their dog at risk.”

“What a shame that so many dog lovers concerns over the past week on your social media have been ignored, and then prevented from commenting too.

“I genuinely hope no dog suffers ill health today from having being brought along to your show in a heatwave.”

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After receiving a deluge of messages on the matter they then limited who could comment underneath prompting another person to post on another public group with over 16,000 followers.

They said: “Anyone else having trouble expressing their displeasure at Heskin Hall for still hosting their dog show and removing anyone’s rights who disagree with them?

I would love to see a video of them walking barefoot from the carpark to the indoor venue instead of putting a toe on the floor.”

Undeterred, management then uploaded a video before the show yesterday showing the area with water, gazebos and a person taking their shoe off to test the hotness of the ground.

The video was against the backdrop of Taylor Swift’s song Shake it Off which includes the lyrics ‘the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate Baby, I'm just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shakeI shake it off, I shake it off’.

When asked by the Post for a response on the matter, a spokesperson for Heskith Hall said: “We decided to go ahead with our charity Fun dog show after making adjustments to plans to protect any animals involved.

“We knew many would not come along ( not having experienced the inside of the Hall) but that those who have visited before would know the building and would have been looking forward to it.

“The show took place inside the Hall where the temperature was 18/19 degrees and as such cooler than many people’s homes. It was one of our many fundraising events for the year.”

They added: “This weekend saw many outdoor events including animals much much larger than ours and taking place in large open fields with only marquees for cover.

“Many thousands of people attended and enjoyed these events and local beaches with their small children , small babies and dogs.

“It seems to us very unfair that a handful of online critics can, with it seems impunity , attack small business like our small family business which are an easy target.

“We are animal lovers and would never risk their health on our premises. We certainly would not have proceeded with the show had we not had the capacity to bring it into the cool environs of our indoors.

“It’s a sad scenario when keyboard warriors feel they can dictate the narrative for small businesses and even try to destroy them.

“We all know what a toxic environment social media can be but it is.a necessity for business in the modern world. In general we find the vast majority of people have common sense and do see through this.

“After all many people have now experienced something similar themselves on social media.”