'Attention-seeking' vet nurse who poisoned own dog stuck from register
A veterinary nurse who deliberately poisoned her dog but escaped a jail sentence has been struck off.
Georgina Bretman injected her black-and-white cocker spaniel Florence with insulin in 2013, causing the animal to suffer hypoglycaemia, collapse, convulsions and seizures.
The damage was so severe that the then two-year-old dog could have fallen into a coma or died.
Vets at the out-of-hours practise in Glasgow where Miss Bretman worked became suspicious after Florence was brought in for emergency treatment on several separate occasions, always suffering from the same unusual symptoms.
She was taken to court in 2017, once her colleagues alerted the Scottish Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SSPCA).
Although no explanation was offered as to why she harmed her pet, Glasgow Sheriff Court was told that she was an “attention-seeker”.
Following her conviction, Miss Bretman was sentenced to a Community Payback Order, with a requirement to carry out 140 hours of unpaid work, and an order was made to take Florence away from her and to ban her from owning a dog for two years.
She has now been removed from the Royal Veterinary College of Surgeons (RVCS) list as a registered nurse by the Disciplinary Committee.
In their decision report, they said: “The Committee recognised the impact this was likely to have on Miss Bretman, which was unfortunate given her young age and her obvious passion for a career as a veterinary nurse.
“However the need to protect animal welfare, the reputation of the profession and thus the wider public interest, outweighed Miss Bretman’s interests and the Committee concluded that removal was the only appropriate and proportionate sanction in this case.”
SSPCA chief superintendent Mike Flynn said: “Bretman caused deliberate distress and suffering to her dog, Florence.
“We are glad this case has been taken seriously by RCSV and this decision has been made.”
Once Florence was removed from Miss Bretman’s ownership, she recovered fully in a new home where she is reportedly very happy and has no lasting consequences.
