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Family desperate to get beloved pet back after being ghosted by dog-sitter

BOSTON — A Brookline family is desperate to get their dog back after leaving him with a pet care service while on vacation.

Once they got back into town, they say the dog-sitter ghosted them.

They used the pet care service “Rover” to take care of their $4,500 Pomeranian for two weeks, but once they got back from vacation the dog was no where to be found.

Ekaterina Mironova says her dog Sasha was more than just a dog, he was family.

“He loved to play with children and even go on swings on the playground, very friendly. My children desperately miss the dog,” says Mironova.

The Mironova family hasn’t seen Sasha since August 25th when they dropped him off with a dog-sitter who they booked through Rover-a nationwide pet service.

“We chose the most expensive person. $100 per night to make sure that she will feed him like take care of him and we had no concern until the last day of vacation when we get back home,” says Mironova.

That’s when Mironova says they lost all contact with the dog-sitters. When they tried to pick up Sasha, the dog-sitters stopped answering their calls and didn’t come to the door. Mironava says the company Rover will only reimburse them for the service, but isn’t offering anything more.

The company said in a statement in part “This experience is highly unusual on the rover platform, and our 24/7 trust & safety team is working with the people involved to resolve this situation as swiftly as possible. We take these concerns seriously, and we are actively working with law enforcement,” says a Rover company spokesperson.

Boston 25 News went to the dog-sitter’s home to try and get answers, but were unsuccessful. According to a Boston Police report, the dog-sitters claim the dog went missing, but Mironova isn’t buying that and had this message for them if they’re watching.

“Please return the dog to us, to my family, and children. We really miss Sasha. He is a great part of our family,” says Mironova.

No word yet if charges will be filed against the dog-sitters. In the meantime, Mironova is thankful for the non-profit organization “Missing Dogs Massachusetts” for its help to get Sasha back home.

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