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MacAulay said there is no indication Paulsen intended for the dogs to die. However, he pointed out that she was a professional and people trusted her to take care of their pets.

He said witnesses reported that Paulsen had also previously left dogs in her truck when she went horseback riding or ran errands, even though they told her she shouldn’t.

“It was a deliberate act to leave the dogs in the truck,” he said. “It’s common knowledge that one ought not to leave children or animals in a vehicle on a hot day.”

MacAulay asked for a sentence of three to six months for each charge, which would be a total of six to 12 months in jail. He also suggested a fine of $5,000 to $10,000, a 10-year ban on Paulsen having any animals and a lifetime ban on Paulsen caring for anyone else’s animals.

Defence lawyer Eric Warren asked that Paulsen be allowed to serve any jail sentence in the community as a conditional sentence. He said that if the judge decides that a custodial sentence is appropriate, it should be served intermittently.

Warren argued that Paulsen was in a “very bad emotional state” at the time of the offence because of a family matter and abusing alcohol, although she was not drinking on May 13.

He said that Paulsen is not a danger to the public and she is not someone who will reoffend.

“Putting this woman in jail would of course send a message. It would not assist the public with respect to the commission of these offences. It would not assist Ms. Paulsen in her rehabilitation,” Warren said.

Outside court, Amber Williams, whose dog Mia was one of the six that died, described her experience at the hearing as “pretty intense.” She said Paulsen had taken care of her dog for just over a year and it was distressing to hear that Paulsen would regularly leave dogs in her truck for while she rode her horse or ran errands.

For Williams, a good sentence would be what Crown suggested: jail time and a fine.

“Our dog meant everything to us. She was like our child, and to lose her so young — she was only 15 months — was very hard.”

Sentencing is expected to take place on Jan. 28.