This is Harry.  Harry died aged just 9 months old as a direct result of negligence by his trusted groomer.  He was locked inside a heated cage dryer for up to thirty minutes, sustaining fatal heatstroke. Harry’s heartbroken family are still tortured by the knowledge of his suffering. 

Are you aware of the dangers of heated cage dryers? Are you aware that dogs have died from heatstroke in these dryers? In all likelihood your dog has been inside one, but you won’t know that because groomers don’t have to tell you. Harry the cockerpoo from Kilmarnock, Scotland, died as a result of negligent grooming and improper use of a heated cage dryer. The groomer responsible is still a groomer. 

Harry’s owner Lisa is raising awareness of the dangers of heated cage-dryers and the lack of any legal requirement for groomers to tell dog-owners about them. Many dog owners may assume that their groomer must be competent and safe, because someone must be checking. They couldn’t be in business otherwise, could they? Wrong!  The groomers we trust are not licensed or potentially even trained or qualified, and even if they are, no one is checking on whether they are professionally competent or not. 

There is no regulation of the pet grooming industry. Groomers do not need qualifications and are not licensed. They are subject to no rules or regulations, do not need to disclose information to you about how they will groom your animal or the equipment they will use, and are not even obliged to tell you if they have injured or killed an animal during grooming previously. 

Cage dryers can be extremely dangerous. They do not require to be regularly tested to ensure equipment is free from defect, despite it being known that mechanical defects can occur. Thermostats can break causing temperatures of heated dryers to be too high.  Timers can be faulty or break, meaning dogs are exposed to heat for too long.  Human error in setting timers or temperatures can be dangerous, and this does not take into account other inexplicable acts of negligence such as occurred in in Harry's case. 

1 in 4 in Scotland are now dog owners and the industry is growing after the coronavirus pandemic puppy boom.  If this petition gets enough signatures, Scottish Ministers can be asked to consider introducing regulations which will help to keep our beloved pets safe. 

This petition seeks to influence Scottish Ministers to use the powers legally available to them to regulate the pet grooming industry. At present, it is entirely unregulated. This industry must be regulated to ensure the safety of beloved pets is protected by good practices, licensed groomers, and safe equipment.

Sign today to support this important cause to get better protection for our pets.