Some Bay Area dog owners are shocked, angry and sometimes sad.
They are trying to figure out a case that starts with hiring a dog sitter from one of the most trusted service apps, Rover. One of its approved dog sitters is now at the center of a police investigation.
Felipe Morales-Torres sounded the alarm about a dog sitter in a Lake Merced neighborhood he found on a popular service app.
“He was covered in urine, or vomit, or both, so it was really scary. We were as far away as Ohio,” Morales-Torres said.
His dog Brady was taken to the vet after being picked up on Christmas Day.
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Morales-Torres filed a report with police. He later saw a post and video on Reddit where he discovered two other dogs had died under the same care.
“This is a pet owner’s worst nightmare come true,” San Francisco resident Ti Tran said.
On Dec. 19, Tran and Amy Dinh left their dog, Aku, with a dog sitter. Although they didn’t get much communication, it wasn’t too suspicious.
But two days before Christmas, they got worrying news.
“On the night of the 23rd, just before Christmas Eve, we got a call from the vet. They asked us if we were the owners of Aku and said he was unresponsive and that his reflexes were not intact,” Tran said.
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The dog sitter took Aku to a veterinary clinic in the Fillmore area.
“He was in so much pain,” Tran said.
“He showed no improvement in taking care of them while they were trying so hard,” Ding said.
Aku died of complications related to dehydration.
Scott Holman’s dog Zeb also died. The reason is unclear.
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“As our flight was taking off, we received a message on the Rover that our dog had blood in his stool and had passed out,” Holman said.
Holman and his husband left Zeb with the same dog sitter on Dec. 17. Zeb died about a week later.
“We were airborne and my heart sank and I cried the rest of the flight,” Holman said. “Our dog is four and a half years old. I’ve had him since he was five weeks old and he’s part of the family.
As for dog sitters, Holman said there are no warning signs on his Rover profile.
“You might think he’s a bachelor who works from home, he loves dogs, dogs love him, and he’s been doing this for a while, so there’s really no red flags,” Holman said.
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Rover said in a statement: “We are heartbroken by this incident and condemn reports of abuse of these pets.”
The company added that it had conducted its own investigation and permanently suspended the dog sitter’s account, as well as another account associated with it, and was cooperating with local law enforcement.
Meanwhile, police said this is an open investigation and no arrests have been made.
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