Dog lover’s fall from grace

A “LADY of high character and standing” in a small coastal community has appeared in a North Queensland court on charges of forging drug prescriptions for her ailing pet dog, which she loved like her own child.

Taylors Beach woman Rhonda Mary Morton, 57, pleaded guilty to a total of 27 fraud-related charges committed over an 18-month period during a bulk arraignment in the Ingham Magistrates Court on Thursday.

The charges were nine counts of forgery and uttering, nine of uttering a forged document, eight of fraud and a final count of attempted fraud when she was finally busted in January this year.

Police prosecutor Bimal Raut said all the charges related to forged medical scripts for the same drug from three veterinarians at Ingham-based Tropical Vets Services Hinchinbrook.

Mr Raut said although the defendant had no criminal history, the charges were “serious criminal conduct”, was protracted offending, impacted on a legal business and a sentence of deterrence was merited.

He urged a sentence of imprisonment, even if wholly suspended.

What struck Magistrate Steven Mosch was that the “foolish” offending saved Morton $30 per script, for a total amount of $270.

Defence lawyer Michael Hibble said his client had married later in life, was a dog lover and considered her pets as her children, including the dog in question, the late Saghani, an alaskan malamute.

“Some people have children, and some people have pets that become their children ... she loved her pet more than most people loved their children.”

In a lengthy submission, Mr Hibble painted a picture of a sickly animal with numerous medical conditions, including for a painful skin condition that required medication.

He said in total, Saghani had cost his client more than $6000 in vet fees, at one point appearing to point blame at Tropical Vets for imposing the $30 script fee given how much Morton had spent, and that his client was “a woman of very limited means”.

He acknowledged the fee was a service, but “it’s a service which seems to have no real cost to the vet”.

Mr Mosch said the fee was like any service, and “if you want to receive a service, you pay for it”.

Mr Hibble, again outlined the cost of the veterinarian services, saying Tropical Vets Services Hinchinbrook “was the same one that put her dog down and then went to police and made a complaint”.

Mr Mosch said Tropical Vets might have “been slightly upset that someone was forging their prescriptions”.

After a minute or so of debate, Mr Hibble said his client had lost her job as an office administrator for MAMS Hinchinbrook as a result of the charges, was deeply embarrassed by what had occurred and was unlikely to ever offend again, urging she be released on a good-behaviour bond.

Mr Mosch said the offending was beyond that, with Mr Raut advising the court the charges carried a maximum sentence of five years in jail.

In his sentencing, Mr Mosch acknowledged Morton’s “very impressive character references”, including from the Forrest Beach Progress Association for her work as treasurer and numerous Hinchinbrook dog clubs.

“It’s fair to say you’ve created quite a lot of drama for yourself for a relatively small amount of money.”

Morton was ordered to complete 60 hours of community service.

No convictions corded. were re