A dog walker who was responsible for the deaths of six dogs in her care has pleaded guilty to one animal-cruelty charge and one criminal charge.
Emma Maria Paulsen appeared in B.C. Provincial Court in Surrey on Wednesday morning. She admitted to causing an animal to continue to be in distress and public mischief for reporting an offence committed when it was not. She was initially facing six charges, and the remaining four will stayed following sentencing.
In May, Paulsen told police that six dogs — now known as the Brookswood Six — had been stolen out of the covered bed of her parked truck while she went to the washroom at an off-leash park in Langley.
The report kicked off a frantic search for the dogs by volunteers and owners that lasted a week — until a private pet investigator alleged that Paulsen told him that the dogs had died from heat exhaustion in her truck and she panicked, coming up with the kidnapping story.
The bodies of the six dogs, including Paulsen’s, were found in a ditch in Abbotsford.
They are thought to have died earlier outside a business in Richmond, while Paulsen was inside.
Paulsen was charged in August.
Jennifer Myers, whose Boston terrier Buddy was one of the dogs that died, was in court on Wednesday. She said it was difficult to see Paulsen in court, but she’s glad there was a plea.
“It is nice that it doesn’t have to be dragged out to a trial, but the hard part about a guilty plea is that you know there will be a lesser sentence, and that’s always kind of disheartening in a way,” Myers said. “You just hope whatever judge decides upon a sentence picks something appropriate.”
The maximum sentence for the animal-cruelty charge is two years in jail and/or a $75,000 fine, while the maximum sentence for mischief is six months in jail.
“I would really like to see jail time,” said Myers. “I’m not very optimistic. I mean, it’s a very rare case that animal cruelty cases actually result in jail time.”
A sentencing hearing has been scheduled for January.
