The B.C. dog walker accused of killing six canines by leaving them in her truck on a hot spring day has pleaded guilty.
Emma Paulsen pleaded to two of the six charges against her Wednesday morning in Surrey provincial court, including one count of causing an animal to be in distress and one count of reporting a false offence to police.
The remaining charges will be stayed, according to the Crown.
Paulsen’s plea brought mixed emotions for some of the dogs’ owners, who’ve been watching developments in the case closely.
“It’s 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 lighter sentence,” said one tearful owner, Jennifer Meyers.
“I would really like to see jail time.”
Another dog owner confronted Paulsen as she exited court, yelling at her as she walked into a waiting minivan.
The six dogs, which included Paulsen’s own pet, disappeared on May 13. The owners initially believed their dogs were still alive because Paulsen claimed someone had stolen them from her truck while she used a washroom at the Brookswood dog park in Langley.
Police said she later admitted to fabricating the story, and that the dogs died of heat exhaustion in Paulsen’s vehicle.
The bodies of the canines, dubbed the “Brookswood Six,” were eventually found dumped in an Abbotsford ditch.
Paulsen is scheduled to appear at sentencing on Jan. 21. The Crown hasn’t said what sentence it will seek, but she faces up to two years in prison and a fine of up to $75,000.
The other charges against Paulsen included killing or injuring an animal, causing unnecessary pain and suffering to an animal, and causing an animal to continue to be in distress.
With a report from CTV Vancouver’s Nafeesa Karim
