ALEX Lowry has called for an urgent change in law following the tragic death of his pet. 

The Rangers star, who is currently on loan at Tynecastle, revealed on Instagram that his pet Dachshund Sunny died in a fire while staying at kennels near East Kilbride earlier this year. 

The winger asked for people to sign a petition supporting a change in the law that would require all dog boarding kennels in Scotland to install smoke detectors, smoke alarms and sprinkler systems. 

Under current legislation, kennels are only required to have a fire extinguisher on site.

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Sharing a picture of Sunny on his Instagram story, he wrote: "During the summer while we were on holiday one of my girlfriend and I's pups Sunny tragically died in a fire at the boarders she was staying at (Kirkland K9). 

"There were no smoke alarms, detectors, or sprinklers installed at the boarders. 

"She would have lived if there were fire regulations in place. 

"Please take a second to sign this petition for kennels to require fire/ smoke alarms."

Glasgow Times:

The petition has been organised by Julie Louden whose dog Monty was among five who died in the fire. 

She says because the fire happened during the night and the kennels had no smoke detectors, alarms or sprinklers, the animals had perished by the time firefighters were called to the scene. 

She wrote: "My dog Monty and four other dogs tragically perished in a fire at the boarding kennels they were staying at in June this year.

"The kennels had a fire extinguisher on site which is all that is currently required under current legislation, but there were no smoke detectors/alarms to alert anyone to the fire which happened during the night.

"There were also no sprinklers in place as this is not a requirement.

"By the time the alarm was raised and the fire department were called to the scene, a few hours had passed and by then all the animals had tragically perished.

"I want safety standards within boarding kennels improved to at least have smoke alarms and early detection systems in place to try and ensure this does not happen again.

"I would not want any other family to go through what we have all had to go through knowing our beloved pets died in such horrendous circumstances."

So far, the petition has had more than 15,000 signatures. 

In a post shared on the Kirkland K9 Facebook page shortly after the fire on Saturday, June 3, owner Tom Lang wrote: "It is with unbelievable sadness that as a result of a tragic accident in the early hours of this morning at Kirkland K9 our boarding kennels have been destroyed. 

"Tom and the family are devastated. 

"The emergency services have been in attendance."

The kennels reopened in July for limited daycare and boarding. 

You can view the petition online HERE.