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That dog gone charge

DEBRA Harvey and son Asa, 10, of The Crescent, Irlam and their dog Milo.

A SINGLE mum claims she has been left to count the cost after paying £50 to rescue her dog after it went missing for less than an hour.

Debra Harvey said she was forced to hand over £50 to Pet Medics surgery, on the Wardley Industrial Estate, at Swinton before staff would return two-year-old Jack Russell terrier Milo.

"Milo was in the garden of our house on The Crescent, Irlam and escaped into the neighbours property," said Debra, 42.

"Unfortunately, they had only been there a few days and didn’t recognise him so they took him to Irlam police station from where he was collected by Pet Medics staff.

"All this took less than 40 minutes, and when I found out where he was, I rang them up and was told that unless I paid £50 I could not have him back and he would be taken off to Leigh Dogs Home.

"I pleaded with them and told them I was a single mum and the only spare cash I had was for that week’s food shopping but they were adamant.

"I am disgusted with the surgery’s attitude. The dog was microchipped but they didn’t contact us.

"They were totally unsympathetic and were going to give me no leeway about paying them back gradually.

"The dog belongs to my youngest son Asa, 10, and I had to get the dog back for him. Luckily, my sister has lent me the money but I am having to pay her back gradually."

John Eccles, practice manager for Pet Medics at the Wardley Industrial Estate, said: "Our records show that the dog was not microchipped and had no tag on it.

"It is also our policy that if the owner does not have the money, we still return their dog, but leave the police to chase up any fees for rescuing it.

"We are sorry that Ms Harvey was charged £50 - that is the fee for a private ambulance call whereas she should have only be charged £30. We will be reimbursing the £20.

"However, I must point out that normally the dog would have gone straight to Leigh Dog’s Home which operates a sliding scale of retrieval charges.

"This lady may well have found herself paying a lot more."