Drumchapel woman devastated after loss of family pet

Chase, a seven-year-old Staffordshire bull terrier cross, is said to have begun showing symptoms of the bacterial infection earlier this year when he developed a skin rash.

Irene Mcghee, Chase’s owner, took him to the vet in April - where it was confirmed that he had picked up the infection, reportedly through coming into contact with dirty water.

Irene said the vets initally didn't know what was wrong with Chase and so samples were taken (Image: Irene Mcghee)The mother-of-three said she was “stunned” and believes a drainage issue at her Dewar Drive home was the cause of the infection.

Irene said: “The rainwater wasn’t draining away because we had no drainage in our back garden from November last year to June this year. 

“I had been constantly phoning Pineview Housing Association for months until they finally fixed the problem at the end of June. 

“Once that was fixed I asked them when they would be returfing the back garden and they initially told me they wouldn’t be. 

“I told them ‘listen there is black and green algae out there and now E. Coli, I can’t put my dog back out there anymore and my children can’t get out to play’. 

“I was told the housing would be sending someone for soil samples so I asked when the person would be coming out so I could be home, and I was then told no one would be coming to take samples as ‘E. Coli is killed by the sun’. 

“I said ‘well if you’re not going to take the E. Coli away you need to take away the algae as that’s still classed as contamination’. 

“After going back and forth they finally said they would returf the whole garden but I’ve not heard anything from them since."

Following the discovery that Chase had picked up the infection earlier this year, Ms Mcghee said she immediately contacted her housing association to report her concerns.

Chase's pawprint in the mud (Image: Colin Mearns)But sadly around two weeks ago, the family learned that his infection had progressed.

She added: “When I took him to the vet in April, they didn’t know what it was, so they took a swab, and they came back and said he had E. Coli in his system. 

“I was stunned and asked where he could have got it from, and the vet said either through dirty food or dirty water. 

“He hadn’t eaten any dirty food and the only place he could’ve got dirty water from was the back garden where the water hadn’t drained away. 

“Unfortunately, the last time I took him to the vet they told me the E. Coli had gone into his lungs and there wasn’t anything more they could do for him. 

“I’m absolutely heartbroken, all I’ve done is cry. My wee girl is devastated. Chase was a rescue dog and I got him when my daughter wouldn’t speak, he was to try and get her to talk and after we got him, she did actually start speaking. 

“She’s kind of gone back into herself a wee bit now because we don’t have him.

“I’m scared for my children’s safety, if it can do that to my dog what could it do to my kids? They haven’t been out the back since we found out about all of this.”  

A Pineview Housing Association spokesperson said: “Our thoughts are with Ms McGhee and her family at this time. 

“At Pineview Housing Association we take any concern raised by our residents very seriously and we consider that we have acted reasonably and responsibly in this case. 

“We are committed to always providing a high standard of service and this has been reflected in our most recent independent tenant satisfaction survey which demonstrated very high levels of satisfaction. 

“We are very sorry to hear about the passing of Ms McGhee’s dog and we recognise how upsetting the loss of a much-loved pet must be.”