Woman jailed for failing to get pet dog much needed medical treatment

A court heard that Rebecca Dowbenko herself had a number of health issues, but she “didn’t believe” in taking medication for these conditions, and had “extended this feeling” to her pets.

When she appeared at Bradford and Keighley Magistrates' Court on Thursday, Dowbenko, 52, of Fairfax Road, Cullingworth, admitted failing to get the much-needed veterinary treatment for one of her dogs, a Newfoundland dog called Lily.

The case was brought to the courts by the RSPCA, and a representative of the charity said by the time they had been made aware of Lily’s condition, her facial swelling had got so bad that the dog was effectively blind.

As well as the facial swelling, the court was told that Lily had been suffering from a “dreadful” skin disease, rib swelling and lung injury, chronic arthritis and spondylosis – none of which had been effectively treated by Dowbenko.

Some of the injuries were consistent with blunt trauma – magistrates heard.

The court was told that Lily was first presented to the PDSA with a skin disease, described as “dreadful” in 2017.

Staff told Dowbenko Lily would need to be seen again in follow up appointments, but she was not taken back to the vets for these visits.

The dog was taken to the PDSA on further occasions, including in late 2021, but Dowbenko never followed up on suggestions from the vets at the charity.

Mr Brown, prosecuting on behalf of the RSPCA, said the charity was contacted by the PDSA due to their concerns about Lily’s health.

He said: “The dog was clearly suffering and was in obvious pain, suspected to be caused by blunt trauma.

“The animal became blind as the facial swelling grew.

Bradford and Keighley Magistrates Court (Image: newsquest)

“The suffering could have been prevented by presenting the dog for veterinary care earlier.

“The dog was allowed to suffer by the failure to provide veterinary treatment over a prolonged period.

“It was not clear when the injuries had been occasioned – there were signs of blunt force trauma within a minimum of six weeks, but could have developed over a number of months.

“By the time Lily was presented to the RSPCA the only humane option was euthanasia.”

Philip Cockroft, defending Dowbenko, said: “The is a lady 53 years of age who has no previous convictions to her name.

“The allegation is that this lady failed to obtain the necessary veterinary care for an animal she accepts she was responsible for.

“She finds it very hard to accept this, she would say she is a very caring person, and the animal that had to be destroyed is one she had from a puppy until the age of nine.

“Human beings benefit from the NHS, but for someone on benefits a single visit to the vets eats up a huge amount of benefits.

“She herself suffers from arthritis and severe anxiety. She doesn’t believe in taking medicine to help her, and it would seem to some extend that she extends her feelings in this respect to animals in her care – not because she doesn’t love these animals, but because she does things in her own way.”

Magistrates retired to consider a report about Dowbenko written by the Probation Service.

When they returned, Chair of the bench Vicky Reynolds said: “We heard evidence that in 2017, 2018 and 2021 you visited the PDSA, and they found her to be suffering with a dreadful, long standing itchy skin complaint, and they advised you to get this treated.

“You failed to do this on all these occasions. The probation report says you are in denial that you caused any suffering to Lily, and you don’t seem to have shown any remorse.

“Lily was left in pain and suffering for a long period of time. There was totally negligent treatment at an early stage.”

The case was so serious, Magistrates had agreed to sentence Dowbenko to 12 weeks custody.

Half of this time would be served in prison and the rest in the community.

They ordered the seizure of her other pets, and she was disqualified from owning any animal for 10 years.