I was stranded in 40C heat and ‘left to die’ with my two German shepherds after roadside assistance refused to tow my car due to a rule that EVERYONE needs to know about

A Melbourne woman has accused a roadside assistance provider of leaving her ‘to die’ on the side of the road after her car broke down in searing 40C heat, claiming help was refused because of a little-known rule involving pets.

Rhyl Ballantyne was driving from Melbourne to Perth with her German shepherd show dogs Ochre and Fallon to visit family when disaster struck in remote Western Australia.

With temperatures soaring, Ms Ballantyne said she immediately called NRMA emergency roadside assistance, explaining she was alone, stranded and travelling with her dogs.

What followed left her distraught.

‘My car lost power and cut out, which later turned out to be water in the fuel,’ she said.

‘I called roadside assistance through my car lease from my salary at the University of Melbourne. That was subcontracted to RAC WA, who then subcontracted it again to a local provider.’

Ms Ballantyne said a local tow truck driver called within the hour but delivered a shocking ultimatum.

‘He told me RAC WA have a no-dogs policy and that I would need to leave my dogs behind,’ she said. 

‘I said I was not leaving my dogs. One of them is a national champion German shepherd who has won at the nationals and was kissed by Dawn Fraser on the podium.’

She claimed the tow truck driver then suggested that she leave her beloved pets in her car with the windows down while he towed the vehicle hundreds of kilometres to Perth in the scorching heat. 

‘That would have killed them,’ she said.

At breaking point, Ms Ballantyne begged the tow truck driver to explain the extreme conditions to RAC WA, and to collect her and the dogs urgently.

Instead, she says, help was cancelled altogether without her knowledge.

‘I was more than 20 kilometres away (from the closest town) so I… put my bush skills to use, erected my awning low and set up a camp to keep the dogs as cool as I could,’ Ms Ballantyne said.

‘But after an hour and a half I could see the dogs were struggling, especially my ten-year-old champion girl.

‘That’s when I realised he had cancelled the call-out and my roadside assistance company didn’t even know. By then it was close to 50 degrees. They left us to die.’

Ms Ballantyne says it was only the kindness of strangers that saved them.

Using her personal network, she reached out to a fellow traveller who put out an urgent call for help.

‘Someone knew someone who had a brother in the nearest town,’ she said.

‘Four hours after I first called roadside assist, a farmer rolled up in a Toyota LandCruiser.

‘He said, “I was told you need water.”

‘I said, “I need to get these dogs out of here.”‘

With the farmer’s help, Ms Ballantyne and her beloved pets were driven to the town, where the compassion continued.

The caretaker at the local caravan park offered her accommodation with air conditioning without asking for payment.

‘He didn’t ask my name or for a credit card. He just got my dogs cool and gave me a drink,’ she said.

‘He and his wife made sure we were fed and set up industrial misting fans for the dogs.

‘There was technically  a no dogs rule too, but he said this was an exception. I will never forget that kindness.’

Since the ordeal, Ms Ballantyne says she has contacted NRMA, who have escalated the matter, apologised and indicated they plan to review and change their policies and procedures.

She is now speaking out to warn other motorists, especially females travelling alone. 

‘I’m in some Facebook groups for solo women camping and most women travelling solo have a dog with them,’ she said.

Daily Mail has contacted RAC WA for comment.