A dog wags his tail as he looks at the treat his handler is holding during the 137th Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show in New York
IN PHOTO: A dog wags his tail as he looks at the treat his handler is holding during the 137th Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show in New York, February 12, 2013. More than 2,700 prized dogs will be on display at the annual canine competition. Two new breeds, the Russell terrier and the Treeing Walker coonhound, will be introduced in the contest. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri

A Canadian dog walker has been accused of killing six dogs. The British Columbia woman pleaded guilty to two of the total six charges she is facing.

Emma Paulsen is facing six charges, two of which she pleaded guilty for in Surrey Provincial Court on Wednesday, Nov. 12. She pleaded guilty to causing distress to an animal that falls under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act. This is the first time such charges were held against someone in B.C. Paulson is entitled to a maximum sentence of two years with up to $75,000 fine for this charge. She also pleaded guilty to public mischief for filing a false police report that could carry a maximum sentence of six months, Vancouver Sun reported.

The other four charges against Paulsen, whom animal rights activists heckled outside the court, included the murder of six Ladner dogs. According to Crown spokesperson Gordon Comer, those charges are going to be stayed following sentencing. Jennifer Myers, one of the owners who had lost her pet, said that losing Buddy was still immensely painful for her. She believed that jail time for the offenders would be an appropriate punishment in the case. However, she wondered if the culprit would really be sentenced in such a strict manner.

The dogs went missing first in May. Paulsen filed a police report that the dogs had been stolen from her pickup truck. She claimed that she had left her truck at a Langley dog park as she went to the washroom. She told the owners and the officers that the dogs were missing when she came back from the washroom. However, according to Langley RCMP, the dogs died in Paulsen's truck while it was parked in Richmond. Further investigations charged Paulsen with failing to provide the necessities of life to an animal and killing or injuring an animal under the Criminal Code, CBC News reported.

The six dogs Paulsen is accused of killing included her own dog Salty. The dogs were believed to have died as they had been left inside the vehicle on a hot day. Paulsen's sentencing hearing is scheduled for January 21, 2015.

Contact the writer: s.mukhopadhyay@ibtimes.com.au