A British Columbia dog walker has been charged with animal cruelty after six dogs allegedly died in her care last May.
Emma Paulsen of Langley, B.C. faces five animal cruelty-related charges and one charge of public mischief, according to the British Columbia SPCA.
Paulsen first reported the six dogs stolen on May 13. She said someone took them from the cab of her vehicle at a Langley dog park while she left to use the washroom. The dogs' bodies were found in a ditch in the Fraser Valley a week later during a community-led search effort.
According to the Langley RCMP, the dogs died in in the back of the truck from heat stroke the same day Paulsen reported them stolen.
The temperature rose as high as 25 C on the day the dogs died.
Jennifer Meyers, whose dog Buddy was among the six that died, said she just wants justice for her pet.
"I know they suffered, and that's the part that, to this day, I still get sad about," she told CTV News. "I don't think that'll ever go away."
It's not yet known when Paulsen will make her first court appearance.
With files from The Canadian Press and CTV Vancouver
