Family devastated after their dog was cremated by the kennel they left him in

'I have an 8-year-old boy in absolute bits due to the incompetence of this woman'

Adam Gardner Mclean and Gemma Allan went to Turkey on 9 June with their son Cody, leaving their dog, Pablo, in the care of a dog groomer who also offered home boarding, in West Lothian

In a Facebook post, Mclean explained that they heard about the dog groomer, Scrub a Dug Dug, through a friend and started using her, "after we had a terrible experience with a local kennel"

Mclean said they used the groomer, who JOE has chosen not to name, on several occasions without any issues, including when they went on holiday for three weeks.

"Pablo seemed content in getting out of the car and going to her each time. We thought we had it good," he wrote in the social media post.

Then, eleven days into their holiday, Mclean received a text saying Pablo was dead.

The text explained that he was walked around 5.30am, then fed, before being left while the groomer went to tend to two other dogs.

"When I came in at about 08:30am to take him back out for his other walk he had passed away," the text explained.

Mclean said the family was told Pablo was sick "on and off for a few days", something they had not been informed of.

The groomer had also taken him to be cremated, Mclean said, telling the provider she had his permission to do so.

This was, Mclean said in his post, "10 hours before telling us that he had actually passed away".

The groomer, he said, claimed to have tried to reach him, but said there was "no connection, yet we had been speaking to family members on facetime etc throughout the day right up until the text message was received, and cannot provide proof a call attempt was made".

"Gemma burst out crying as soon as she saw the text message. […] Then we had to explain to our son what had happened. It was horrible," Mclean said.

Mclean went on to say that the cremation service, ICarePetCrem, had offered to collect Pablo, but the groomer insisted she do it herself.

"A member of staff who I shall not name has since told us that when he removed Pablo from the boot of her car, he was extremely stiff and cold and that he believes in his 20+ year experience, he had been gone a lot longer than the hour or so" the groomer had claimed.

Mclean was angry Pablo wasn't taken to the vet where he could have been cold-stored until they had a chance to say goodbye.

"Pablo was 2 years old, he had been to the vet twice, for his annual checkups. He had absolutely no health issues whatsoever. He was the most funny, happy, healthy cuddly boy and I have an 8-year-old boy in absolute bits due to the incompetence of this woman," Mclean said in his post.

The family returned home on 24 June and collected Pablo's ashes, and have allegedly been unable to get in touch with the owner, who's reportedly been ignoring their calls and visits to her house.

Mclean notes: "Maybe it was an accident, but something doesn't sit right. "

I want to make sure other dog owners are aware of what happened to Pablo."

A spokesperson for the SPCA said: "The Scottish SPCA received a call regarding a dog that had died while in the care of an unregistered boarder while his owners were on holiday.

"We are looking into this case and have referred the matter to the local authority."

Related links: