Regulate the pet parlours
Devastated owner calls for oversight on groomers after pup’s tragic death
A HEARTBROKEN dog owner is calling for groomers to be regulated after her puppy had to be put down following a visit to a pet parlour.
Mum-of-one Lisa O’Neill, 37, is still mourning eight-month-old cockapoo Harry, who suffered a collapsed intestine shortly after being put in a drying cage at a groomers.
Harry was bought in October 2020 for £2350, and was taken to the same salon in February 2021.
When he went on May 6, Harry was washed and put in the drying cage at the groomers, which Lisa wouldn’t name.
He collapsed and Lisa had to pick him up and take him to her local vets in Ayrshire. He was then taken to Vets Now Hospital, in Glasgow, but had to be put to sleep on May 8.
Police officer Lisa, from Kilmarnock, is campaigning for dog groomers to be regulated, which animal welfare chiefs agree needs to happen.
The SSPCA said a postmortem showed Harry’s death was not attributable to the groomers but backed calls for regulations.
Lisa said: “The groomer I took him to had 30 years of experience, so I had no qualms about taking him there (in February). When I got him back, he looked good, he was desperate for a drink but I thought that was natural after being dried. I was happy to trust them.
“In May, it was the same scenario – a girl came and took him off me outside. About an hour later, I got a phone call saying Harry had collapsed while being dried. He had been put in a drying box and the timer set for 30 minutes. “Being an excitable puppy, he’d have jumped about the whole time. “He was taken to Vets Now in Glasgow but the complication that arose... 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. I had to go and sit with him while they put him to sleep. “He definitely suffered tremendously. Harry, if you put him in a crate, would jump about – so to be locked in a heated box for that length of time, he’d have been going crazy.” She’s launched a petition to get the Scottish Government to regulate dog groomers, which has nearly 3000 signatures. Lisa said: “Ministers have the powers to regulate the industry, they just haven’t done it yet.” Scottish SPCA chief inspector Laura McIntyre said a postmortem found the dog had not died from heatstroke, adding: “Given the clinical view from veterinary experts was the cause of death was not heatstroke or any other issue attributable to the treatment in the groomers, the investigation was closed.”
I got a phone call saying Harry had collapsed LISA O’NEILL ON HER BELOVED DOG’S DEATH