04 July 2023 , 10:23
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A family has been left devastated after returning from holiday to find their dog had been cremated by the kennel they left him in.
Two-year-old French Bulldog Pablo had been left in the care of Scrub a Dug Dug in West Lothian while dad Adam Gardner McLean went on holiday to Turkey with Gemma Allan, 29, and son Cody, eight.
But 11 days into their trip, the car salesman received a devastating text message from the kennel that Pablo had passed away, Daily Record reports.
Joan Barr, who owns the kennels, told the family she had cremated the pet before informing them Pablo had died.
"I got a text from Joan saying she had been trying to get a hold of us but our phones never rang," Adam said.
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French Bulldog Pablo was only two years old"She said she found Pablo dead after taking him for a walk earlier in the morning and that he had been sick.
"Then she took Pablo to ICarePetCrem and had him cremated 10 hours before she told us he had died.
"She told the crematorium she had our permission to cremate Pablo.
"She said he had been sick on and off for a few days but she didn't try to contact us or attempt to take him to the vet.
"Gemma burst out crying as soon as she saw the text message saying he was dead. Then we had to explain to our son what had happened. It was horrible.
"The news was hard enough to hear as it is, without the whole aftermath of everything.
"We don't have camera footage and we couldn't get a post mortem because he was cremated without us knowing so will will never be able to prove anything."
Adam claims he contacted ICarePetCrem who allegedly told him Pablo was 'stiff and cold' with his harness still on in the boot of Joan's car.
He also claims staff at the crematorium told him Joan refused for workers to pick Pablo up and insisted on taking him there herself.
The 30-year-old added: "The owner of the crematorium said Pablo arrived in a cage, with his legs outstretched and his harness on.
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"The crate was covered in blankets. He has worked in the business for 20 years and believed Pablo had been dead for 12 to 15 hours when he arrived."
The family collected Pablo's ashes from ICarePetCrem directly when they returned from their holiday on Saturday, June 24.
Adam says Joan has now ignored calls, messages and even attempts to speak to her at her house.
He added: "It has been a horrible week. My son is gutted, he played with Pablo everyday. Maybe it was an accident but something doesn't seem right.
"I want to make sure other dog owners are aware of what happened to Pablo."
A West Lothian Council spokesperson said: “We have been made aware of an alleged incident regarding a dog which may have died whilst in the custody of an individual. We will be investigating the allegation. We are unable to comment further at this time.”
A spokesperson for the SSPCA 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."
The Mirror contacted the kennel for a comment.