A wine critic is suing a dog-sitter after his cockapoo was hit by a car while in her care.
Harry Eyres, a former wine columnist for The Spectator and theatre critic for The Times, has told a judge that his dog, Ebony, suffered serious spinal injuries after being run over by an estate agent’s car outside Kendra Torgan’s home in London in 2022.
Eyres, 66, an Old Etonian, said he spent thousands of pounds on life-saving operations for the dog, described in court as a “beloved member of his family”.
He is suing the former actress for damages to cover the cost of treatment.
He told the court he was shocked when Torgan allegedly wrote to his lawyers to suggest that “euthanasia” might be a cheaper option than operations.
Eyres, who has written for Country Life magazine and is also an author and poet, has blamed Torgan for letting Ebony escape from her garden and into the road while in her care.
At a preliminary hearing at Central London county court, he has asked for damages of up to £30,000.
• Boundary disputes surge as neighbours want day in court despite costs
Torgan set up her dog-sitting business, offering pet “whispering” and “outdoor adventures for dogs”, after starring as an assassin in the 1998 British crime thriller Killing Time. She has denied that the incident was her fault.
Lawyers for Eyres told the court that Ebony “wandered into the road” while under Torgan’s care at her home in east London and was struck by a car being driven by an employee of Dexters estate agents. The estate agent took Ebony to an emergency vet and the dog was transferred to an animal hospital in Marlow, Buckinghamshire, for urgent treatment.
Eyres claimed that Torgan “negligently failed to supervise the dog” and “failed to call the dog back once it left her side”.
The dog suffered a fractured spine that required repeated reconstructive operations. Metalwork and screws were inserted to hold the broken bones together.
In written submissions to the court, lawyers for Eyres said the dog’s treatment was continuing and that “to prevent the vertebrae from collapsing, a revision of the original spinal surgery needed to be performed … involving removal of the original implant and screws and their replacement with a new larger implant and 13 screws”.
The court was also told that Eyres’s insurance company had confirmed that it would not pay for the treatment and that as the dog was left with Torgan she owed her a duty of care.
Eyres said Torgan told his legal team that Ebony could be “euthanised rather than seeking treatment”.
The wine critic is also suing the estate agency, which denies responsibility for the dog’s injuries.
• Wellness guru accused of blocking neighbours’ access to lawn
Torgan has told the court that she should not be sued personally and that Eyres should instead take legal action against her company, which was dissolved in 2023. The court was told that Torgan has blamed the dog for her injury.
Caitlin Corrigan, for Dexters, told the court: “Ms Torgan has not filed a defence but in correspondence has said that she should not be being sued as an individual, but rather her dissolved company.”
She added that Torgan was also claiming that the accident was “unforeseeable”, since the dog took her by surprise when she suddenly wriggled out of her garden, having “forced the gate open herself”.
Torgan attended court but was not represented by lawyers.
Whichever side loses the dispute could face a costs bill of more than £150,000. The case will return for a full trial at a later date.
