Dogs matter.
I don't believe he said it in quite those words, but when Judge James Jardine sentenced Emma Paulsen to six months in jail last week for her role in the deaths of six Ladner dogs last spring, he did put value on the lives of our canine companions.
The tragic story has been well documented in the media since the dogs were allegedly stolen from a park in Langley last May, but right up until Jardine delivered his sentence in Surrey provincial court last Wednesday morning, there was doubt as to whether the former dog walker would do any jail time.
Even though the Crown was seeking a year behind bars after the Ladner woman pleaded guilty to two charges, it was still a surprise to many when she was actually given jail time in addition to bans on owning pets and caring for other people's animals.
The sentence won't bring back Buddy, Molly, Oscar, Teemo, Salty or Mia, but it does place value on their lives. It sends a message to society that crimes against animals won't be tolerated.
I have to admit I was one of those who was skeptical the sentence would include any kind of incarceration, particularly given Paulsen, as the judge pointed out, didn't intend to harm or kill the dogs that were in her care that day. It's not that her reckless behaviour, and the efforts she took to cover it up in the week that followed, didn't deserve such punishment, but it's rare to see jail time in those kinds of cases.
By meting out such a sentence, however, the judge not only punished Paulsen but he put all others on notice. It can't give those five Ladner families their cherished pets back, but if it gives pause to those who might think about leaving an animal in a vehicle on a warm day, then it has accomplished something.
This was obviously an extreme case, and one complicated by Paulsen's actions in the days that followed, but it does go back to the message that animal advocates must get tired of repeating: dogs and hot vehicles don't mix.
Hopefully the publicity this case has generated, combined with the outcome of the court proceedings, makes that warning sink in for those who would still tempt fate. If nothing else, maybe the sentence will spare a dog's life simply because its owner is looking to save his or her own skin.
Some will say they're just dogs, but if they're anything like my Shyenne, they're far more than that. They're members of the family - and they deserve justice too.
