Veterinary nurse who poisoned own dog walks free
A VETERINARY nurse who poisoned her dog in a bizarre case of animal cruelty has been spared jail.
Georgina Bretman, 28, injected her cocker spaniel Flo with insulin, making the pet collapse and suffer seizures.
The damage was so severe that the twoyear-old dog could have ended up in a coma or died.
In what is thought to be the first prosecution of an owner for harming their dog in such a way, Bretman was convicted after a trial of causing the animal unnecessary suffering on June 23, 2013.
Although no explanation was offered as to why she harmed her pet, the court was told she was an ‘attention-seeker’.
On one occasion Bretman’s employer gave her an evening off – then correctly predicted that, within a few hours, the dog would suddenly become ill and be brought back to the surgery requiring emergency treatment.
The dog has been under the care of the Scottish SPCA since the allegations against Bretman and has returned to good health.
Yesterday at Glasgow Sheriff Court, Sheriff Joan Kerr found Bretman, of Rhu, Dunbartonshire, guilty under the Animal Health and Welfare Act and ordered her to do 140 hours of unpaid work as a ‘direct alternative’ to jail.
She told her: ‘Flo was vulnerable and dependant on you for her care.
‘Your motivation to cause her this suffering may never be known, you have chosen not to shed any light on that when you spoke to a social worker.
‘You have expressed no remorse for causing Flo such suffering.’
The sheriff ordered that Flo should be sold or re-homed and disqualified Bretman from owning or possessing a dog for two years.
It was noted that she harmed her own pet and she is not banned from working with animals.
Bretman started work in 2011 for a veterinary clinic in Kinning Park, Glasgow, which provided care for animals outside normal working hours.
Vets became suspicious after Flo was brought in for emergency treatment several times, always suffering from the same mysterious symptoms, including collapsing twitching and vomiting.
Tests showed a low glucose level.
During Bretman’s trial her former employer Lesley Herd said she took blood samples from Flo to send to Glasgow University Vet School for testing.
Although Bretman volunteered to deliver the samples, they never arrived. Mrs Herd said: ‘Because of the pattern of collapse and low blood glucose on each occasion, and the fact that the dog was normal between episodes, I was suspicious that insulin had been administered.’
Mrs Herd described Bretman as ‘quite attention-seeking’ and added: ‘I had said to my partner, “She will find an excuse to come in to the clinic because she’s not happy about having the night off”.
‘I said, “I bet Flo collapses tonight”, and it did happen.’
Bretman was sacked by the clinic and defence counsel Craig Findlater told the court she is now unemployed.
Scottish SPCA inspector Laura McIntyre said: ‘This dog has missed out on a large chunk of her life due to the time it has taken for the case to go through the courts.
‘While we are disappointed the disqualification isn’t longer we welcome the fact that she has been dealt with by the court.’