A West Hollywood family filed a lawsuit against a pet sitting service after their beloved dog drowned in their pool while they were on vacation.
“When I left here, she wasn’t dying,” owner Rebecca Duke said. ‘Never in my wildest dreams did it occur to me that she wouldn’t be here. I would never have gone.’
Duke said a weekend trip to San Diego last November became her worst nightmare after she left her beloved 16-year-old mini schnauzer, Queenie, in the hands of someone she thought was a vetted pet sitter.
“I feel deprived,” she said. “I feel like she’s been stealing from my dog for the past few days.”
Duke said neighbors recommended Trust Housesitters to care for her pets. The website says it connects pet owners with rated and verified sitters. After interviewing several candidates, Duke said the family chose one they felt was the best fit.
“I gave her very specific instructions not to leave Queenie out in the dark at night, especially at night, but also not to leave her in the backyard where we have a pool,” Duke said.
Two days after her trip, Duke said the babysitter called her.
“She was hysterical and said Queenie had fallen in the pool,” Duke said.
Security camera footage shows Queenie coming out and then swimming laps in the pool. At one point she even stands on the stairs, perhaps trying to get out, but to no avail. At one point, Queenie stops swimming before a woman runs out of the house and begins CPR.
Duke said the nanny admitted to letting Queenie out of the house. She filed the lawsuit against Trusted Housesitters on Thursday, accusing the company of negligence and breach of contract.
“You provide a service, so you have to take responsibility if that service doesn’t go well,” said attorney Camron Dowlatshahi.
While nothing will bring Queenie back, Duke said what makes her death even more painful is that it was preventable.
“I feel like I almost have a moral obligation to make this known,” she said. “Honestly, I don’t want anyone else to have to go through the pain that we went through as a family.”
Trusted Housesitters did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
