Poppy Bilderbeck
A couple has spoken out after their dog passed away and was cremated by the kennel before they even told them about his death.
Adam Gardner Mclean and Gemma Allan went to Turkey on 9 June with son Cody, leaving Mclean's French Bulldog Pablo in the care of a kennel in Whitburn, Scotland.
Little did they know dropping two-year-old Pablo off at the kennel - recommended to them by a friend - would be the last time they'd ever get to see him.
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Eleven days into their holiday, Mclean received a gut-wrenching text from the dog-boarding service.
Sent by the kennel's owner, the text reads: "Hi, I have been trying to contact you, but no connection.
"I am so sorry but Pabalo [sic] passed away this morning. I took him out for his walk about 5:30ish and fed him when we came back, I then seen to my own Dogs and went out to the Summer House to Groom 2 of my own Dogs, and when I came in at about 08:30 to take him back out for his other walk he had passed away."
The kennel owner said it 'looked as if [Pablo] had been sick' and the French Bulldog had reportedly been 'sick on and off for a few days,' but he still played and went for walks so 'seemed fine'.
However, the owner resolved she ultimately didn't 'know what happened'.
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The kennel owner said she was 'in bits' over Pablo's passing and said she contacted 'icare in Whitburn' to 'take care of him'.
Pablo was cremated 10 hours before the family were told he'd died.
She resolved: "I was going to wait until you came home, as I didn't want to spoil your Holiday, but Alec from icare thought that I should let you know just know. Again, I am so so sorry, but he seemed fine."
Mclean claims the owner didn't try to contact him when Pablo first got sick and didn't 'attempt to take him to the vet'.
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"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," he says.
The dog owner also notes with no camera footage and Pablo being cremated, the family weren't able to get a post mortem and so 'will never be able to prove anything'.
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.
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"I want to make sure other dog owners are aware of what happened to Pablo."
A spokesperson for West Lothian Council told the Mirror: "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 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."
LADbible has contacted the kennel and ICarePetCrem for comment.