A family has been left distraught after a veterinary practice scattered the ashes of their much-loved dog in a 'misunderstanding'.
Barry Johnson, 40, from Waltham, filled in a form wrong in the midst of his grief and selected the option that meant they would not get their pet's ashes returned to them after cremation.
Mr Johnson had suddenly found his 10-year-old miniature English Bull Terrier dead in the garden on Tuesday, November 2, Grimsby Live reports.
He took Poppy to Eastfield Veterinary Clinic in North Thoresby who confirmed she had died from suspected heart failure.
But in his grief when filling in a form to have her cremated, he said he selected the wrong box for standard cremation without realising it meant the family would not get Poppy's ashes.
And they will never get them as they say Poppy was scattered on a dog ashes garden without them knowing.
He said: "I found Poppy dead in our garden and took her in to the vets so they could confirm she'd passed away.
"They let us spend some time with her and asked us to fill in a form about what we'd like to do next.
"We didn't want her burying in our garden in case we move house one day so asked for her to be cremated.
"After deciding that was what we wanted to do, we were then asked whether we wanted it to be standard or private.
"In my eyes, I associated private with being like having a service. I told them that I didn't want to be there for it and that I would pick her ashes up at a later date, so I chose standard."
A few days later, Barry rang Eastfield Veterinary Clinic to arrange to pick up Poppy's ashes.
However, he was told he would not be able to collect them due to selecting a standard cremation.
Barry said he was told that only a private cremation allowed owners to collect ashes.
He claims no one properly explained this to him.
After asking again if he could collect Poppy, he was told the ashes had already been scattered as part of the standard cremation, adding to their heartbreak.
Barry said: "I'm disgusted with what has happened, it's caused a lot of distress to me and my family.
"It's been one hell of a week to say the least.
"It makes me feel so bad for Poppy too, she never liked other animals and to know she's with others now is really not good.
"They told me it was because I'd ticked the wrong box, but they didn't let me have her, the whole thing has made us feel awful.
"I just don't want anyone else to go through the same thing we've done.
"It may have been a mistake, but the protocols need to be changed in my eyes."
Barry's five-year-old daughter, Ophelia, really misses Poppy.
She said: "I'm really sad to lose her and I miss her loads."
A spokesperson from Eastfield Veterinary Clinic said: "We have apologised to Mr Johnson and we are sincerely sorry for the misunderstanding over Poppy’s cremation.
"Because of client confidentiality, we are unable to comment on individual cases, but we always endeavour to ensure we discuss all the various options about cremation with our clients and support them at such a sad time."
