Re: “Deadly dog walker sent to jail,” The Leader, Jan. 29.
This is a tragic story for all parties involved. As Judge James Jardin said in Surrey Provincial Court, while (Emma) Paulsen may not have intended to kill the dogs, her conduct after the incident constituted “continued repeated recklessness.”
Poet Lord Byron wrote, “Oh, what a wondrous web we weave, when we first decide to deceive.”
Since Paulsen’s own dog was one of the dogs in the truck when six dogs died in her care, this further enforces my belief that this was nothing more than a stupid, tragic and preventable accident on her part. If only she had come clean and admitted that she had made a fatal mistake on the part of the six dogs that died, and profusely apologized for her negligence, things might have turned out better for her. She may have avoided the six months in jail she received.
Trying to cover up her negligence by driving these dead dogs all the way from Langley to Abbotsford and dumping them in a ditch only compounded her problem, and showed insensitivity to both these dogs and their owners.
That is, she proved to be her own worst enemy.
If she had sought legal counsel, she could have probably pleaded guilty to a lesser charge than animal cruelty and public mischief.
Animal cruelty is a deliberate and malicious act to make an animal or animals suffer needlessly. There was no evidence of this having taken place. Public mischief was obvious, on her part.
By the way, the article’s accompanying photo by Evan Seal with the caption: “Angry animal rights activist Kat Chapman is reflected in Emma Paulsen’s sunglasses after an earlier appearance by Paulsen at Surrey Provincial Court,” was priceless and an absolute and unmitigated masterpiece on the part of this photographer. He should get a prize for it.
Chapman should be ashamed of herself for stalking and harassment this poor woman. Paulsen has already suffered enough public humiliation to last a lifetime.
Fred Perry
Surrey
