Bereaved pet owner fined for defamatory email

Bernice Ebejer was found guilty of circulating a defamatory email after her pet puppy died after a medical intervention.

Magistrate Francesco Depasquale heard how vet Charmaine Xuereb had sterilised Ebejer's dog, however after some hours the dog started bleeding. The owner took the dog to another vet who claimed he had to redo the sutures as they had not be done properly. The dog was again operated upon, however it died.

An autopsy revealed the cause of death to have been an enlarged spleen. The incident happened in January 2010.

The defence counsel held that an email entitled 'Justice in memory of our beloved dog Muffin' was not libellous but was a simple comment by a bereaved owner. However the Magistrate argued that the woman intended to publicise and circulate the email. The email read, "beg you to circulate this email as much as possible so that justice can be done and trust renewed in our vets... Please forward to everyone you know".

Magistrate Depasquale found Ebejer guilty of circulating a defamatory email and fined €250.