A veterinarian and her friend claimed that a dog owner wrongly accused them of stealing her pet … This is why they are those who have to pay $ 660,000

A veterinarian and her friend have been instructed to pay $ 660,000 in legal costs after losing a defamation against a dog owner and a detective for pets.

Ainslee Munro and agronoma Lauren Marchant submitted the case to the NSW court after they claimed that they were falsely connected to the disappearance of a five-month-old puppy.

Judge Judith Gibson ordered on 24 April that the two women pay $ 629,000 to the detective for pets and $ 30,000 to the dog owner Shannon Wheeler.

The judge discovered that they had stolen the puppy, which was a high -quality Cavalier King Charles Spaniel called ‘Teddy’ and brought him to a breeder.

The dog was never found in a heartbreaking turn after he has escaped from the couple.

‘Teddy’ was missing when Mrs. Wheeler came home in Young, NSWon June 9, 2020.

In a post to a Facebook Group At that time, Mrs. Wheeler said: “(The Achterste) Poort could have been opened at any time between 9.30 am and 7 pm. We are very worried. ‘

Then she found CCTV images of two women who walked through the street with a small black dog on the day of the incident and placed on social media.

Beautician Shannon Wheeler (photo) was shocked to discover that the beloved family dog ​​Teddy was missing when she came home in June 2020

Social media users identified a woman as Munro, who had worked with Greyhound Racing NSW, The Sydney Morning Herald reported.

An investigation by Mrs. Wheeler and Pet Detective Anne-Marie Curry followed when she watched Munro and her friend Marchant.

Mrs. Wheeler, a beautician, then shared a ‘name and shame’ social media that tied them with Teddy’s disappearance, but within 24 hours she and Mrs. Curry were concerned about knowledge.

Marchant and Munro claimed that the posts and comments painted them as ‘criminals, dog thieves, (s) liars’.

But the defamation case was rejected in February by Judge Gibson in the NSW -District Court after she had found evidence to support the accusation that the pair of Teddy stable.

“The intention to rob the true owner was more or less immediately with their recognition of the value of Teddy,” said Judge Gibson.

Teddy was a black and brown male, unexed Cavalier King Charles, with puppies with a value of $ 1,000 to $ 3,000 on Gumtree.

The court heard that Munro and Marchant did not bring Teddy to a pound when he was found on the street, news.com.au reported.

In CCTV images, obtained and shared on Facebook by MS Wheeler, users identified one of the women who was missing with a small dog on the day Teddy was missing as the vet Ainslee Munro

Instead, they drove to the house of a former colleague who was a recognized microchipper and Cavalier King Charles Fokker.

ATDdy jumped out of the car and escaped. He was never found.

Judge Gibson told the court that she was ‘comfortably satisfied’, Munro took Teddy to the breeder ‘, namely to put Teddy in his backyard’.

“I am comfortably satisfied that she did this to see if he would like to keep Teddy,” she said.

She added that Munro Teddy took, knowing that the ex -colleague had the ‘expertise and equipment to remove and replace the Teddy microchip if necessary’.

Judge Gibson also said that if Mrs. Wheeler and Mrs. Curry had not proven that the couple had stolen the dog, she would have ordered compensation of $ 10,000 to Munro and $ 15,000 in Marchant.

But as a result of the findings of the judge, it was the pair that was instructed to pay $ 629,000 to Mrs. Curry and $ 30,000 to Mrs Wheeler who represented themselves, which means that her legal costs were lower.

The requirement remained when Munro and Marchant were submitted to the Court of Appeal on 13 May.

Daily Mail Australia has contacted all parties for comment.