I have followed this story with interest as it featured on radio 3aw's morning "rumour file" and was followed up by a mid morning talk back presenter- Neil Mitchell.
He interviewed a Q.F spin doctor who was ducking for cover and intimated that there may have been a problem with the dog ,in the form of a pre existing condition , that may have added to his demise. She based this on the fact that another, younger dog ( short haired ) survived the ordeal-although dehydrated. what she neglected to mention was the deceased dog was a 5 year old long haired dog- a golden retriever in fact , who had been thoroughly vet checked prior to the trip.
The owner's of the dog , both educated professioal people who were relocating to Europe spoke beautifully when interviewed a few weeks later.
They explained to Mr Mitchell that they had not heard at all from Q.F and had to personally contact the Vet in Bangkok who performed an autopsy which revealed a dog which had no underlying pathophysiology that would have led to an unexpected sudded death. The autopsy concluded death from hypovolaemia through dehydration and heat exhaustion .
The poor couple and their devastated teenaged daughter had the results faxed to them and had to contact Q.F , despite Q.F being sent the autopsy report a week prior to the family receiving it.
They were not seeking anything but honesty from Q.F - which they had not received. This pet was dearly loved enough for them to transport to Europe-the main reason was because their daughter was leaving all her friends in Australia for the first time to attend a foreign school. The dog was very precious to her and they are having extreme difficulty with her settling in without her furry friend to come home to. She cannot understand it at all.
I hope those who are making flippant comments about this will stop and think about how they would feel in the same position.
I'm damn sure that if it was my family I would be a lot less diplomatic and forgiving than this refined couple.
I hope they change their ming and go for the jugular-money is the only language that Q.F understands.