PHOENIX — James Belsky bawled his eyes out as he boarded a flight at Sky Harbor. He was heading home to take care of a family emergency — but the tears were for a different reason.
That day, the truck driver said goodbye to his miniature Dachshund, Dobbie. He found a “highly rated” dog sitter on Rover, an app that pairs pet owners with pet sitters and dog walkers. The college student he began messaging seemed trustworthy and responsible. Belsky paid him to watch the wiener dog for two days, but received a phone call two hours after he dropped his dog off — Dobbie was missing.
“He was going to take out the trash and Dobbie ran out the door,” Belsky said. “Somehow my wiener dog ran down three flights of stairs.”
Dobbie was last seen Feb. 12 running away near West Campbell Avenue and the I-17. The dog sitter told Belsky he was traumatized as well and promised to spend the entire day and night searching to “get little man home safe.”
The sitter said he would print stacks of missing dog flyers, but when Belsky returned to the apartment days later and walked the neighborhood, he saw none posted. Instead of picking up his best friend, the sitter sent him home with Dobbie’s leash and collar.
“He is gone and they don’t know where he is and I have tried my best to find him,” Belsky said.
Dobbie was more than a dog — he was a road dog who traveled the country with Belsky during his long hauls. The two were always together.
“Sometimes I have had to sneak him into concerts with me or the Super Bowl in Las Vegas street parties, steakhouses, he goes kayaking with me,” Belsky said. “He eats my food with me. I know it is not good for a wiener dog’s belly.”
Dobbie had no microchip and was not wearing his collar. He was also not up-to-date on his vaccinations, which is why Belsky could not take him to a kennel or doggy hotel.
Rover offered a $1,000 dollar reward for Dobbie’s return and sent notices to nearby dog sitters, veterinarians and shelters. The company also permanently deactivated the dog sitter’s account.
“I answer phone calls from Phoenix because I just pray that it is Dobbie,” Belsky said.
Months later, he is still waiting for that call. He has not spoken with Rover or the dog sitter since February. His truck route brings him through Phoenix occasionally, and leaving without his dog never gets easy.
In a statement to 12News, Rover said:
"As pet parents ourselves, we join with Mr. Belsky in hopes that Dobbie is safely reunited with his family.
As you noted, our team worked to support search efforts for Dobbie and Mr. Belsky during this challenging time. We refunded his stay, offered a significant reward for information leading to locating Dobbie, posted in online pet-finding websites that send alerts directly to local shelters and veterinarians, and reached out to members of our sitter community in the area. The reward remains active and our team is ready to assist if anyone has information that would help bring Dobbie home.
Rover prioritizes the safety of our community. In the rare event that a safety issue occurs during a booking, our 24/7 Trust and Safety team will conduct a thorough investigation and take appropriate action. In this instance, the sitter has been removed from our community and can no longer offer services through our platform.
For additional context, pet parents in the Phoenix area have made over 400,000 bookings with sitters through Rover, and 98% of reviewed stays have received five stars."
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