Dogs watch through the fence of a property in Palermo, California. Juno was allegedly left in the backyard around 3.30pm while the sitter took another dog on a walk, leaving Juno unattended, Garza said in a lost pets Facebook group. — AP
A Texas pet owner whose dog went missing while being cared for by a Rover pet sitter says he lost contact with the sitter as soon as the search for the pup began.
Devin Garza, of Denton, told WFAA he left his Rottweiler mix named Juno with the pet sitter when he left for a trip June 8. It was the third time Garza left Juno with this particular pet sitter, who was booked through the popular app Rover.
Previously, he had no issues with the sitter. But on June 12, when Garza was set to return home, things took a turn for the worse.
“Juno was allegedly left in the backyard around 3.30pm while the sitter took another dog on a walk, leaving Juno unattended,” Garza said in a lost pets Facebook group. “When the sitter returned, they stated the gate had been pushed open. Juno is not chipped, but she is also not a runner.”
Rover, in its terms of service, says it is not liable for the actions of its sitters, who do not work for the company and are instead considered independent contractors.
When Juno went missing, Garza said he quickly lost touch with the pet sitter.
“The Rover sitter barely kept me up to date, and even took on another sitting job in the middle of the search while I was driving back in town,” the pet owner said. “The Rover sitter had stopped contacting me with updates the next day, and did not contact Rover to assist them with resources for helping find the lost dog.”
More than two weeks later, Juno remains missing. She escaped from the East McKinney Street and Loop 288 area of Dentonand was wearing a purple bandanna.
In a statement to McClatchy News, Rover said its team has been in contact with Garza and the pet sitter. Rover staff members have sponsored a reward, purchased hundreds of fliers and posted in various pet-finding forums online to help find Juno, a spokesperson said.
“We join Mr Garza and all who love Juno in hoping she will be brought home soon,” the spokesperson said.
Garza has spent the past two weeks posting fliers, going door to door and to animal shelters, while also contacting animal hospitals and animal control. He even hired a pet tracker, who he said abandoned the search after an hour.
“It’s just blind hope right now,” Garza told WFAA, telling the station it has been “pretty tough” beginning the summer break from his teaching job without his companion.
The Rover spokesperson said Garza has been refunded and the pet sitter’s account was suspended as the company conducts an investigation.
Denton is about a 35-mile drive northeast from Fort Worth. – The Charlotte Observer/Tribune News Service
