Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser
Kennels deny causing death
SSPCA probe fate of beloved family pet Snoopy
The Crufts-winning owners of a Caldercruix kennels have defended themselves over allegations a dog had to be put down following a spell in their care.
George Milne, of Whinhall, claims his beloved 15-year-old male Samoyed called Snoopy was subject to neglect during an eight- day stay at Andelalie Boarding Kennels last month. This led, he says, to a “shocking and heartbreaking” transformation in the animal.
George and wife Sylvia say they had to carry their pet from the Hillend facility owned by Angela Brown – whose Yorkshire Terrier was very highly commended by judges at Crufts earlier this month – and that he was undernourished, shaved “virtually to his pink skin” around his backside and weighed five kilos less than when he first arrived at the kennels.
Days later the pet was put down. However Mrs Brown’s husband Ian hit back at claims of neglect and insisted the dog was “in a poor state” to begin with and highlighted his advancing years as a reason for his ill health.
Snoopy’s owner George Milne, 62, said: “We were going away and our usual kennels were closed, so we chose Andelalie as an alternative.
“The place looked nice and clean and we went away content our dog would be looked after.
“However, when we went to pick him up eight days later we were in total shock.
“The owner told us, ‘the dog’s back end has gone’. We’d asked them to trim Snoopy but they’d shaved him virtually down to his pink skin. We had to carry him
to the car.
“Although he was an old dog, he was very fit and we had him out walks three or four times a day so we were optimistic we could get him back on his feet.
“We took him to the vet and when Snoopy was weighed he was five kilos lighter than before he went in.
“We got him home for a few days but he developed a big sore on his hip and the vet told us we were fighting a losing battle.
“We decided we didn’t want Snoopy to suffer any more so we got him put down.
“It was heartbreaking for us as we’ve looked after Snoopy for 10 years and he was our son’s dog before that.”
Mr Brown responded: “We absolutely refute any allegations of neglect. If anything the dog was in a poor state when we received it and had a badly matted coat.
“We shaved it because we were asked to by the owner.
“With hindsight we should either have refused to take it, as a lot of other kennels would have, or reported it to the SSPCA.
“However, my wife is a dog lover and always goes out of her way to help and would never inflict harm on any animal.
“The other issue with this particular dog was its age. It was 15.” [Samoyed life expectancy is between 12 and 15 years].
George claims Mrs Brown, who has been showing dogs for 20 years, apologised and offered to pay the vet fees and refund the kennel charge, totalling almost £800.
He said: “Ultimately it’s not about money for us. The last thing I want to see is a business getting into difficulties but our aim is to make sure this kind of thing doesn’t happen again.”
While Mr Brown confirmed footing the bills, he added: “We did so as a goodwill gesture and not as an admission of any liability.”
Scottish SPCA inspector Emma Sergeant said: “I can confirm we visited an address in the Airdrie area following a complaint regarding the welfare of a dog.
“The investigation is currently ongoing.”
Trading standards said they are aware of the complaint but that there is no active investigation.