Animal cruelty charges have been laid against the dog walker implicated in the deaths of six Ladner dogs, including her own.
The B.C. SPCA announced Monday that dog walker Emma Paulsen is facing several animal cruelty charges.
Initially reported stolen from her truck while parked at a Langley park, Paulsen later admitted the canines died after being left in the vehicle on a hot day.
The search began Tuesday, May 13 after Paulsen reported that the six canines, including her own, were taken from the back of her truck while it was parked at a dog park at 44th Avenue and 206th Street in Langley.
The distraught owners, who all live in Ladner, rallied, following leads, distributing fliers throughout the Lower Mainland, offering a reward and calling in Petsearchers Canada, a Vancouver-area pet detective and bloodhound tracking service, in an attempt to find the canines — Buddy, a Boston terrier, Mia, a pitt bull, Oscar, a Rottweiler-husky mix, Molly, a blue heeler-shepherd cross, Teemo, a Bouvier poodle cross, and Salty, the dog walker’s own border collie.
However, after almost of week of searching, Petsearchers announced that Paulsen had admitted that the dogs had died, likely from heat exhaustion, after being left in the back of the truck.
The dogs were later recovered from an Abbotsford ditch.
“Every charge that we recommended — and really, every possible animal cruelty-related charge that she could have faced — has been approved,” said B.C. SPCA chief prevention and enforcement officer Marcie Moriarty. “We could not be more pleased.”
Paulsen is facing charges of animal cruelty and neglect under both the Criminal Code and the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act.
If convicted, she could face a maximum fine of $75,000, up to five years in jail and a ban on owning or having custody of animals for a period of time determined by the judge.
