Canadian Dog Walker Could Face Charges in Deaths of Six Dogs
Dog owners might be holding onto their pets’ leashes a little tighter after hearing about what happened to six dogs left in the care of dog walker Emma Paulsen of British Columbia.
According to CBC News, Paulsen allegedly dumped the bodies of six dogs in a ditch in Abbotsford, B.C., after reporting them stolen from the back of her pickup truck.
Paulsen told police and the dogs’ owners that she left the dogs for about 10 minutes to use a bathroom at Langley dog park in Langley, B.C., and returned to find them missing.
After an intense week-long search conducted by the dogs’ owners and Petsearchers.com, a Vancouver-based pet detective agency, the dogs’ bodies were found in a ditch in Fraser Valley.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police confirmed Monday, May 19, that the dogs apparently died from heat exhaustion while locked in the back of Paulsen’s car.
“We now believe the dogs perished after being left in the back of a vehicle while the dog walker went into a business and they perished in the heat,’’ Cpl. Holly Marks told CTV News Vancouver.
Temperatures reached the mid 70s the day the dogs went missing.
According to The British Columbia Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals’ website, “The temperature in a parked car, even in the shade with the windows partly open, can rapidly reach a level that will seriously harm or even kill your pet.’’
Petsearchers’ Alesha MacLellan told CTV News Vancouver that Paulsen eventually admitted that she left the dogs (including one of her own) in the truck.
Cpl. Marks said that although the dog walker has not been taken into custody yet, she could face charges of animal cruelty, as well as public mischief charges for allegedly misleading police investigators.
Marks also said that it was the worst case of animal cruelty in Langley in recent years.
“This was particularly troubling since it was so misleading,’’ Marks said. “There was confusion over locating them alive and this was compounded by the fact that she lied.’’
Marks said the SPCA will be conducting necropsies on one or more of the dogs today.
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