(WNY News Now) – TONAWANDA, N.Y. – Erie County District Attorney Michael J. Keane announced that a Tonawanda veterinarian has been arraigned on multiple charges related to allegations of falsifying business records and concealing the identity of a missing Yorkshire terrier.
Kimberly A. Parkhill-Brown, 46, of the City of Tonawanda, appeared in Tonawanda City Court on Tuesday, September 30, 2025, before Judge Mark Saltarelli. She was arraigned on two counts of Falsifying Business Records in the First Degree (Class E felonies), three counts of Falsifying Business Records in the Second Degree (Class A misdemeanors), and one count of Companion Animal Stealing (unclassified misdemeanor under New York State Agriculture and Markets Law).
According to prosecutors, the charges stem from an incident that began on July 17, 2024, when the victim’s dog, a Yorkshire terrier named “Benji,” went missing from her Niagara County residence. Later that day, the victim was contacted by a veterinarian’s office in the City of Tonawanda, which reported that “Benji” had been brought in by someone who found the dog. A follow-up call allegedly informed the victim that the dog had been discharged to those individuals.
Parkhill-Brown, while working as a veterinarian, is accused of making false entries in the office’s patient records in an attempt to conceal the dog’s identity. Prosecutors allege she changed the log entry from “dog found in the woods” to “itchy skin,” and altered the dog’s sex listing from “male” to “female spayed.”
On August 8, 2024, Parkhill-Brown allegedly made further changes to the records, including altering the dog’s name and unlawfully removing the microchip registered to the rightful owner. Prosecutors claim she replaced it with a different microchip, an act that led to the Companion Animal Stealing charge. On August 12, 2024, she is accused of changing the dog’s name again in the office records.
The dog was later returned to its lawful owner.
Parkhill-Brown was released on her own recognizance following her arraignment, as the charges are non-qualifying offenses for bail under New York law. She is scheduled to return to court for a pre-trial conference on Tuesday, October 28, 2025, at 9:30 a.m.
If convicted of the top charge, Parkhill-Brown faces a maximum sentence of four years in prison.
District Attorney Keane credited the investigative work of Detective Brett Rogers of the City of Tonawanda Police Department, Chief Investigator Lindsey Wood of the SPCA Serving Erie County, and Investigator Jonathan Bondi of the Niagara County SPCA. The case is being prosecuted by Chief Gary M. Ertel of the DA’s Special Investigations and Prosecutions Bureau.
As with all criminal cases, Parkhill-Brown is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
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