Police were last night investigating claims that racially motivated and abusive messages were sent to a Singapore couple whose pet dog died at a north-east boarding kennels.
Last night Terence and Mabel Teng showed the Press and Journal e-mails and a text message containing the abuse – including a racial slur – believed to be from Woodlands Pet Care, at Lonmay, in Buchan.
Mr and Mrs Teng were left devastated by the death of their four-year-old miniature Maltese dog Mikki, which was left in the care of Woodlands’ owners Roy and Lisa Youngs, while the couple went to Singapore.
Following their pet’s death, however, Mr and Mrs Teng say they were sent a number of conflicting e-mails from Mr and Mrs Youngs in relation to funeral arrangements for Mikki. At one point, it is alleged, the Youngs told the couple they had buried the dog, before revealing they had exhumed the animal’s remains and arranged for a cremation – despite Mr and Mrs Teng saying they wanted to arrange their own burial.
Following the confusion over their dog’s death and burial Mr and Mrs Teng were then sent abusive e-mails and a text message, understood to be from an e-mail account and mobile phone used by the kennels owners.
One particularly abusive message instructed the couple to “sprinkle the ashes on your noodles”.
A spokesman for Grampian Police confirmed the force is treating the incident as a racist matter.
A spokesman for Aberdeenshire Council said that it is investigating the dog’s death, adding: “This may involve submitting our findings to the procurator fiscal.”
Mr and Mrs Teng, of Croft Court, Westhill, Aberdeenshire, were in Singapore from March 19 and intended to leave Mikki at Woodlands for two weeks.
But their dog died on March 22, and they were told about their pet’s death a week later when Mr and Mrs Youngs e-mailed them to break the sad news.
Mr and Mrs Teng were told Mikki had died of a suspected heart attack but the Youngs did not take the dog to a vet, instead choosing to bury the animal themselves.
The Tengs claim they instructed Mr and Mrs Youngs that they would collect Mikki’s remains on their return so that they could cremate the animal.
However, the kennel owners allegedly proceeded to dig up Mikki and had the dog cremated the following day.
Mr and Mrs Teng, who were still in Singapore at the time, contacted the pet crematorium responsible to inquire about the procedure before receiving an e-mail from Mr Youngs’ BT account reading: “We have spoken to the crem today and was told of your question re your dog. Please collect your mutt and never contact us again.”
The e-mail and a text message, seen by the Press and Journal, contain a barrage of abuse. In the text message, from a mobile number matching that of Mr and Mrs Youngs, the couple are instructed to “Go back to your own country”.
It reads: “Nice try sorry to disappoint best you go back to your own country then you can sprinkle the ashes on your noodles, it's just we're not sure now what we dug up? could be anything, bon appetite!"
Last night, Mr Teng, 32, who works in the legal department of an oil company, said: “We just want to know what happened to our dog because just now it seems like it’s one big cover-up.”
Mrs Teng, 28, said of the dog: “She had never fallen ill the whole time we had her and we had her checked by our vet before we went on holiday and she was fine.”
When contacted by the Press and Journal yesterday, Mr and Mrs Youngs, of Craigellie, Lonmay, near Fraserburgh, denied all knowledge of the e-mail and text message. When asked how the messages could have been sent without their knowing, Mr Youngs said: “I don’t know.”
A police spokesman said: “We are investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of a pet dog in the Fraserburgh area.
“We can confirm that this is being treated as a racist matter.”
An Aberdeenshire Council spokesman said Mr and Mrs Teng had reported the incident to the local authority’s dog warden.
The spokesman said they were making inquiries and may send their findings to the procurator fiscal.
The website for Woodlands Pet Care was last night down, despite having been working earlier in the day.
The kennel’s blog, woodlandspetcare.blogspot.com, describes the boarding kennels as “the dog people who really care”.
It continues: “We offer a complete care service for your pet, diet and obedience counseling, natural food suppliers, pet sitting, dog walking, holiday care. View pictures of your pet from anywhere in the world while you are away.”