Heartbreak As Puppy Has To Be Put To Sleep After Visit To Groomers

A heartbroken dog owner wants Scotland's animal groomers to be regulated after her puppy Harry was put down following a visit to a salon where he was put in a 'drying cage'.

The eight-month-old cockapoo, who was bought in October 2020 for £2,350, suffered a collapsed intestine shortly after being put in a drying cage at a groomers.

Mum-of-one Lisa O’Neill, 37, took Harry to an award-winning grooming salon in February 2021 and returned on 6 May.

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Harry was put to sleep on 8 May after he was taken to Vets Now Hospital, in Glasgow.

Police officer Lisa, from Kilmarnock, East Ayrshire, is campaigning for dog groomers to be regulated, which animal welfare chiefs agree needs to happen.

The SSPCA have said Harry's death was not clinically attributable to the groomers, but backed calls for regulations.

Lisa said: “Being an excitable puppy, he didn’t like being locked in anywhere so being locked in a drying box he would have jumped about the whole time.

“He was taken to Vets Now in Glasgow to try and treat him but unfortunately, the complication that arose from the heatstroke meant his blood wasn’t clotting.

“This was two days after it happened and we were going to get an operation to save him but it couldn’t go ahead because his blood wasn’t clotting due to how severe his heatstroke was.

“I had to go and sit with him while they put him to sleep."

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Lisa added: “It’s amazing the amount of dog owners who know nothing about drying boxes, they hand their dog over and have no idea if they’re getting locked in a box or not."

Scottish SPCA chief inspector Laura McIntyre said: “In May 2021 we investigated the heart-breaking death of a dog when he fell ill at a groomers shortly after being in a drying cage. 

"The dog was taken to a private vet where his condition sadly deteriorated and he was ultimately put to sleep. 

"We arranged for a post-mortem to take place, by an external organisation, in order to fully investigate the circumstances. 

"This post-mortem found the dog had not died from heatstroke. A follow-up check was also undertaken by a Scottish SPCA vet. 

"Given the clinical view from veterinary experts was that the cause of death was not heatstroke or any other issue attributable to the treatment in the groomers, the investigation was closed."

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A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “We are committed to ensuring high standards of animal welfare for pets in Scotland. 

“It is an offence for people in charge of animals to cause them unnecessary suffering and we recently increased the maximum available penalties to five years imprisonment and an unlimited fine. 

“We have introduced a new framework for the licensing of some activities involving animals, and will be consulting on whether to extend this to additional activities, including potentially to dog grooming businesses. 

"We plan to bring forward consultations in this area after allowing a period of familiarisation with the recent licensing changes, so that the practical experiences of local authorities in implementing these can be considered in any future proposals. 

“We would encourage anyone with information on the mistreatment of an animal to bring it to the attention of Police Scotland, their local authority or the Scottish SPCA.”

Topics: Dogs