An Animal Care Review Board hearing into 71 seized dogs ended in Toronto last week, but the nightmare continues for a Trout Creek couple operating a dog rescue farm raided by the OSPCA this past summer.

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A decision will be rendered by the end of March, says Chris Popovich, Executive Advisor with the Safety, Licensing Appeals and Standards Tribunals Ontario. A copy will be made available to members of the public by contacting the government body.

Rebecca Ashworth is not optimistic.

"We aren't expecting any of this coming out in our favour."

She says a bill for $380,000 from the OSPCA for care and boarding of the dogs was called "reasonable", by OSPCA lawyer Brian Shiller during his 90 minute final summation last week.

"We're just waiting for them (ACRB) to side with the OSPCA or to tell us we can have them (the dogs) back if we pay the $380,000 and then we'll go on to Superior Court." 

The board has the authority to tell the OSPCA to give the dogs back and swallow the costs, says Ashworth. but she considers that "very unlikely".

And she says the board won't have all of her testimony because of equipment failure.

"At one point it was discovered that the recorder wasn't working. In a case like that how do you have a complete transcript?

"The whole thing start to finish, we just felt like we were going through the motions."

OSPCA spokesman Brad Dewer said the organization was unable to comment on the Ashworth case.

"At this point right now, we wouldn't be able to provide a comment as the matter is currently being considered by the Animal Care Review Board, so any comment on this case will have to wait until a decision has been made."