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A Christchurch family has been left distraught after their pet’s remains were removed and disposed of by a waste company without their knowledge.
Georgiah, 24, whose surname will not be used, was devastated when her American bulldog, Coco, passed away. The family had organised through a private companyto have her cremated, but instead, they were told the body had already been destroyed.
“I received a phone call yesterday morning from the vet themselves, explaining that another company has come in, ignored Coco’s body tag and taken her body and disposed of it,” said Georgiah.
American Bulldog, Coco, died from parvovirus on August 6. Photo / Supplied
Coco’s body was labelled with a pink tag, instructing the disposal company, Interwaste, not to remove her from the vet clinic. Despite this, her remains were taken and destroyed on Friday - leaving the family with no chance to say goodbye.
“That puppy was like my best friend, as anyone’s dog is ... my 5-year-old is absolutely distraught ... he’s questioning when we can pick our puppy back up, and I don’t even know how to explain to him what they’ve done,” Georgiah said.
“I was disgusted … they’ve literally taken my dog and disposed of her without consent …it’s not fair that my kids don’t get their dog back.”
Interwaste informed Georgiah yesterday that there was nothing they could do.
“I had a call back from the manager of Interwaste yesterday, and it was really unprofessional … all he said is, ‘Sorry, there’s nothing else we can say or do’,” she said.
American Bulldog, Coco, was taken from the vet after she died from parvovirus. Photo / Supplied
The family is seeking some form of compensation from Interwaste for “the lack of responsibility and emotional harm they’ve caused”.
“The fact that all they could do is say sorry ... saying sorry doesn’t compensate for them taking my dog,” she said.
“Not only the fact that they ignored the tag once, but they would have had to see the tag a second time before they cremated her ... there’s no reasonable explanation for why they’ve done it.”
Georgiah wants to thank OurVets clinic, St Albans for their service and understanding throughout the process.
“They’ve been nothing but empathetic and caring, one of the staff members had a cry with me when she had to break the news,” said Georgiah.
OurVets St Albans said due to privacy and confidentiality, it was unable to comment further on the individual case.
“Our thoughts are with Coco’s owners at this time,” a spokesperson said.
Interwaste have been approached for comment.
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