CHICAGO – A dog owner put her trust in a pet sitter she found on a popular app and now her beloved companion is missing.
Rachel Weaver is demanding answers after her 5-year-old poodle vanished while in the care of a dog sitter. Now, the only clue she has is a single video.
What we know:
It’s been more than two weeks of heartbreak and unanswered questions for Weaver.
She says her beloved dog Benji, a 5-year-old “parti” poodle, vanished without a trace after being left in the care of a sitter she found through the Rover app.
This wasn’t a first-time booking. Weaver says she had used the same sitter before with no issues.
But on Sept. 12, she received a short video from the sitter, and it would turn out to be the last time she would ever see Benji again.
She says Benji was at the dog sitter’s home near Luna Avenue and Balmoral Avenue in Jefferson Park.
But in the early morning hours of Sept. 12, the sitter claimed that Benji escaped from her backyard while she was in the bathroom.
Weaver sprang into action, distributing over 600 flyers in the neighborhood. But she says that soon after, the sitter stopped cooperating with efforts to find Benji and now, communication has completely broken down.
Adding to the urgency, Benji is on medication and is scheduled for oral surgery Oct. 1.
Weaver provided screenshots showing booking information for the sitter on the app for Benji’s 5-day stay.
However, Rover told us in a statement that Benji’s most recent stay was never officially booked through their platform and that the sitter was removed from the app in August, well before Benji went to the home.
What they’re saying:
“I asked her, ‘Can I go into the yard to see for myself where he, if you say he escaped, let me where he escaped. Oh no, I don’t want you to go in my yard,’” Weaver recalled.
“My heart feels empty. I feel like I’m missing half of me. I just started school and usually when I’m in school, Benji, he lays next to me while I’m in class, you know, to support me. That’s his way of supporting me. I feel lost wherever he is. I know he’s looking for me as much as I’m looking for him. I know, he needs me as much as I need him. Whoever has him, I just want him back. You know, if they want money, a reward, no questions asked, you can have it. Nothing compares. Money does not compare to a bond that’s unbreakable.”
The other side:
Rover put out an extensive statement. Here’s a portion of it.
“We have confirmed that the pet care provider does not have a profile on the Rover platform and did not have a profile on the Rover platform at the time of the incident. While Benji’s stay was not booked through Rover, our team has still offered to assist with his recovery through lost pet flyers and posting on pet-finding platforms.”
Benji is microchipped. Weaver has filed a police report with Chicago police.
Fox 32 did speak to the sitter, but she said she was advised not to make any comments.
The Source: For this report, Fox 32’s Tia Ewing conducted interviews with the dog owner, Rachel Weaver, and a spokesperson for the pet sitting app Rover.