AN ANDOVER couple have said they are ‘extremely angry’ after discovering that the borough council took just one water sample from Anton Lakes following the death of their puppy.

As previously reported, Jordan Shearman and Hannah Washington tragically lost their one-year-old cocker spaniel Roo on April 30, just hours after enjoying a walk at the popular Andover beauty spot.

The couple from Augusta Park, who are in their twenties, said that the vet feared Roo had been exposed to poisonous blue-green algae when playing in the water.

Test Valley Borough Council (TVBC) immediately launched an investigation, and warned other dog owners to avoid the area until results were clear.

READ MORE: Andover couple whose puppy died just hours after walk at Anton Lakes send warning to dog owners

However, less than a fortnight later they confirmed that the testing had shown ‘no concerns’ and that levels of the algae were extremely low, and safe for animals.

Jordan and Hannah said they felt this was the ‘wrong message’ and that they felt let down by the council.

Now, they have revealed that after probing the council for the full test results, they discovered that just one water sample was taken, which they believe to be inadequate.

Jordan says that, in discussions with the council, it had been noted that “multiple areas needed to be tested because each stagnant area will produce different results, let alone all the different pools of water that have streamed off of the main lake.”

He continued: “Obviously, we are not only distraught to find out that they only took one sample, but extremely angry.

“We honestly can’t fathom how they would consider one sample to be acceptable for a lake of that size, especially considering a pup has just died following a trip there.”

SEE ALSO: Owners of dog who died after Anton Lakes walk unhappy with TVBC investigation

Responding to the concerns, a TVBC spokesperson said: “Given that the Anton Lakes are interconnected, we considered that one sample would likely provide a very good overall indication of the water quality of the lakes. In deciding the best location to sample, because there were no clear visual indications to target any other place preferentially, a location where we know Roo swam was ultimately chosen.

“We received a low test result back, which was 20 times lower than the guideline level for further action. Of course, had that result been closer to that guideline, further testing would have been considered at that point.”

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