Seattle dog with dementia abandoned by sitter

Dog sitter abandons senior dog with dementia

A Seattle dog owner is speaking out after a dog sitter abandoned his senior dog while he was on vacation out of the country.

SEATTLE - A Seattle dog owner is speaking out after a dog sitter abandoned his senior dog while he was on vacation out of the country.

"Anyone who knows me knows I’m the guy that goes everywhere with my dog," said Daniel Cardenas. "I’m the guy who books the extra seat and has his dog with him, but with international flights, I wasn’t sure how things would work."

Cardenas figured finding a dog sitter who specialized in senior dog care who would spend the night would be a better option.

"I decided to do one of these Wag! sitters because I thought Loki was going to be comfortable in his own home, that he’s going to have somebody taking care of him, looking after his needs," Cardenas said.

Loki is Cardenas’ 15-year-old male Shiba Inu. He’s Loki since he was a 3-month old puppy. Two years ago, Loki was diagnosed with dementia.

"Now it’s all about giving him the best care," he said. "It’s also about structure, routine, and keeping Loki in surroundings he knows and is comfortable with. That’s why I went with the dog sitter."

Unfortunately, he said the dog sitter, who he only knows as Olina H., didn’t deliver.

"The only time I heard from her was when she received the keys to my apartment. She never responded to me after that," he said.

He eventually had to cut his Mexico vacation short when his texts went unanswered.

"I had no idea if she had taken the dog," he said. "I didn’t know if she was hurt or if she was injured. I just had no clue what was going on so I dialed the emergency services with Wag!"

An emergency check of his apartment found Loki alone and his home in disarray.

"They found dog feces and urine all around the apartment and Loki was barking at the person," said Cardenas. "It was all so wrong. There was also alcohol missing."

He said he has no idea if Olina H. ever showed up to care for his pet. Making matters worse, she had his apartment keys.

"I eventually got them back," he said. "But it was through a third party. I’ll never know if she even cared for Loki, but my guess is she didn’t."

Compounding the situation, he said all conversations, including booking confirmations through Wag!, were deleted.

"It’s like it never happened," he said. "They really need to take accountability to vet and track their sitters."

FOX 13 reached out to Wag! for comment but have yet to hear back. However, we have learned Wag! is investigating the incident. Cardenas also said they had refunded his original payment.

"They didn’t do their job," he said. "I hope that the service can find some kind of way, not just to hold her the sitter accountable but hold themselves accountable."