A heartbroken dog owner has called for Scotland's animal grooming industry to be regulated after her puppy had to be put to sleep following a visit to a salon where he was put in a 'drying cage'.
Nine-month-old cockapoo Harry suffered a collapsed intestine shortly after being put in a drying cage for 30 minutes at an award-winning grooming salon in May 2021.
He was taken to Vets Now Hospital, in Glasgow, but due to complications was put to sleep on May 8.
His owner Lisa O'Neill, 37, from Kilmarnock, East Ayrshire, who bought Harry in October for £2,350, is now campaigning for dog groomers to be regulated.
The Scottish Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SSPCA) said a post-mortem found the dog had not died from a heatstroke or any other issue attributable to the treatment in the groomers.
However it has backed calls for greater regulation of the industry.
Nine-month-old cockapoo Harry suffered a collapsed intestine shortly after being put in a drying cage in May 2021
Ms O'Neill, who works as a police officer, said Harry was first taken to the salon in February 2021.
When he went in May, Harry was washed and then put in a 'drying cage' at the groomers, which Ms O'Neill declined to name, on May 6.
He collapsed, and Ms O'Neill had to go to pick him up and took him to her local vets in Ayrshire.
The next day he was taken to Vets Now Hospital, in Glasgow, and he was put to sleep on May 8.
Ms O'Neill said: 'I did do a bit of research and the groomer I took him to had 30 years of experience, had won awards, so I had absolutely no qualms about taking him there.
'Being a novice and not knowing about cage dryers I didn't know to ask the question.
'When I got him back he looked good, he smelled lovely, he was desperate for a drink but I thought that was quite natural after being dried.
'So away we went and I was quite 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.
'At this point, I still had no idea about a drying cage.
'It wasn’t until she told the vet what had happened they came back to me saying ''he had heatstroke and that these drying boxes are death traps''.
'It turns out, he had been put in a heated drying box and the timer was set for 30 minutes.
'Being an excitable puppy, he didn't like being locked in anywhere so being locked in a drying box he would have jumped about the whole time.
The dog was taken to Vets Now Hospital, in Glasgow, but due to complications was put to sleep on May 8
The Scottish Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SSPCA) said a post-mortem found the dog had not died from a heatstroke but it has backed calls for greater regulation of the industry
'He was taken to Vets Now in Glasgow to try and treat him but unfortunately, the complication that arose from the heatstroke 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 due to how severe his heatstroke was.
'I had to go and sit with him while they put him to sleep. He had suffered horrendously before he was put to sleep.
'He had intussusception due to the stress and
