Georgina Bretman, 28, was yesterday convicted of animal cruelty for poisoning her dog Florence with insulin
An ‘attention-seeking’ veterinary nurse who deliberately poisoned her pet dog in a bizarre case of animal cruelty has been spared jail.
Georgina Bretman, 28, injected her black-and-white Cocker Spaniel, Florence, with a drug that made the animal collapse and suffer seizures and convulsions.
The damage was so severe that the two-year-old dog could have ended up in a coma or even died, Glasgow Sheriff Court heard.
Bretman, of Helensburgh, near Glasgow, was yesterday convicted under the Animal Health and Welfare Act for injecting the dog with insulin on June 23 2013.
There was no explanation given about why she carried out the cruel act, but jurors heard she ‘wanted attention’.
It is understood to be the first successful conviction of its kind with an owner harming their dog in such a way.
Florence (pictured) was brought into the surgery where Bretman worked multiple times with alarmingly low blood sugar levels
On one occasion the private clinic Bretman worked for 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 hound has been under the care of the SSPCA since the allegations against Bretman came to light and has since returned to good health.
Yesterday Sheriff Joan Kerr handed her a community payback order as a ‘direct alternative’ to jail, with the condition she must carry out 140 hours unpaid work.
She said: ‘Flo was vulnerable and completely dependent 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.’
When the allegations against Bretman came to light, the Cocker Spaniel, now two, was taken into the care of the SSPCA. She will now be re-homed
The Sheriff banned Bretman from owning a dog for two years and ruled that Florence should not be given back to her but re-housed as the SSPCA see fit.
But she is not banned from working with animals, as there was no evidence to suggest she harmed those in her professional care.
Vets at the out of hours accident and emergency pet practice where Bretman worked became suspicious after Florence was brought in for emergency treatment on several separate occasions – always suffering from the same mysterious symptoms.
The 28-year-old started working as a veterinary nurse for the clinic in Kinning Park, Glasgow, in 2011.
Her former employer Lesley Herd knew something was not right after the dog was rushed in for emergency treatment on several occasions collapsing, twitching and vomiting.
Georgina Bretman (pictured) was branded ‘attention-seeking’ by her ex-boss, who claimed she injected her because she was annoyed at being given the night off work
Each time tests revealed her glucose levels were particularly low.
Mrs Herd told the court: ‘The dog was fine between episodes so I really didn’t know what was going on, we couldn’t understand why she was having these episodes.’
On on occasion the vet boss ordered Florence’s blood samples to be sent to the Glasgow University Vet school for testing.
But after Bretman offered to take them there they never arrived.
She added: ‘Initially she didn’t want any bloods taken to the vet school, then agreed it was really the only way forward if we were going to find out what was going on.
‘She volunteered to take the blood to the vet school. Later I found out the blood had never arrived at the vet school.’
‘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 insulin had been administered to the dog.’
She described Bretman as ‘quite attention seeking’ and added: ‘I had said to my partner she will find an excuse to come into the clinic because she’s not happy about having the night off and I said “I bet Flo collapses tonight”, and it did happen.’
Bretman (pictured outside court) is now unemployed and has moved back to her family home
Bretman was later suspended and sacked from her job and Mrs Herd contacted the SSPCA.
Bretman denied the charge saying she only wanted to find out what was wrong with her dog.
But she was quizzed: ‘It might be suggested you took a dislike to the dog, that’s why you harmed her.’
Bretman replied: ‘Not at all, I put a lot of energy in. She was my companion.’
Defending, Craig Findlater handed the Sheriff 18 pages of references for her to consider before sentencing.
He told the court she is now unemployed and has moved back to her family home.
Mr Finldater said: ‘She has grown up with animals around her.
‘She is educated to degree level and gained employment within her chosen profession, that is caring for animals.’
Scottish SPCA inspector Laura McIntyre said: ‘Unfortunately this dog has missed out on a very large chunk of her life due to the length of time it has taken for the case to go through the courts.
‘It is only now, over four years later at almost seven years old, that she is able to start looking for a lovely new home.
‘Bretman caused Florence a great deal of unnecessary suffering and whilst we’re disappointed that the disqualification isn’t longer we do welcome the fact she has been dealt with by the court.’