Tukwila dog owner said she was ‘physically shaking’ after catching sitter allegedly abuse pet

TUKWILA, Wash. — A Tukwila couple is sounding the alarm after their dog was allegedly abused by a dog sitter.

The couple found the sitter named ‘Jacob’ using the popular pet-sitting app ‘Rover’. The couple and Jacob, then moved off of the app to agree on pricing and dog-watching responsibilities.

Fidel and Alysa Mendez, left for their Christmas vacation, leaving Jacob to home-sit their two dogs.

A few days after they left, Alysa decided to look at their ‘ring’ video camera footage. The video showed their dog sitter repeatedly hitting one of their dogs.

“I couldn’t sleep and I was physically shaking,” said Alysa. “I want charges to be pressed. Because if he did his to us, I can only imagine what has happened in the other homes.”

The next morning, Alysa called Tukwila Police. Officers came and removed that dog sitter from their home. Tukwila Police told KIRO 7 that charges against Jacob are pending. Animal abuse under Washington law is a felony.

“It was really heartbreaking because my dogs are my babies,” said Fidel.

Jacob has since been removed from the Rover app, the couple told KIRO 7.

They also allege that in addition to hitting their dog, he also stole money from their home. They believe the vetting process for all pet-sitting sights needs to be more rigorous.

“Moving forward, I really just want people to be aware of what kind of people can be found on the app,” said Alysa.

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