A NATIONAL retailer has removed a brand of dog bones from their store after a Stevenston mum revealed her pet pooch has died after eating one.

Debbie McQuat’s two-year-old King Charles Spaniel, Harley, had to be put down last week after it was given an Irish Rover Ham Bone from B&M which splintered and caused issues with his bowel.

The 45-year-old then took to Facebook to warn other dog owners about the issue and as we went to press, her post had been shared almost 50,000 times.

Other dog owners from across the country have also been in touch to let her know of similar experiences with their dogs.

Debbie explained: “The dogs were away for the day because Iwas working and they got bones, they had one each.

“They were dropped off and I was told they had a bone each and that Harley had been really ravenous with it but that night the two (dogs) had bad sickness and diarrhoea.

“He was OK but looked sheepish and I contacted them to say if you have the dogs again, don’t give them bones.

“I then got a phone call at work the next day to say Harley had an appointment at the vets at half two.

“He became really limp and then couldn’t hold his head up and he was taken to the vets and they were phoning at 6pm.

“I finished my work at the back of five and I got a call to say that the vet said it would be safest to put him down because he was suffering.

“I went straight over to the vets and when I saw him, I told them there was no way and told them to give him the jag.”

Debbie described her beloved Harley as a ‘wee pest’ but she said that he had such a loving nature. The bone does comes with a warning on the back but Debbie believes it has to be much more strong and visible.

She added: “Should the warning say it could lead to death? Should the warning be a lot bigger? Should it be like a packet of cigarettes, they say ‘this can kill’. Surely it should say something like that because it obviously can too.

“I will never give another bone, I tried not to before but you think ‘that’s what bones are for’.”

A B&M spokesperson, said: “The safety of our customer and their pets is of the upmost importance to us, we’ve taken the precautionary measure of removing the product from sale and will no longer be stocking this item.”