When going on vacation without our dogs, we always want our furry friends to be as safe and cared for as possible. So, when Beth Adkins and Miles Pequeño went on a trip to Washington, they thought they were leaving their dog, Mercy, in good hands. They had hired a walker on Wag! to give Mercy the regular walks that she needs. Little did they know, Wag! has been known to have some irresponsible walkers on their app.
After their plane landed, the couple received a call from Wag! letting them know that Mercy had gotten loose on a walk. The dog walker had tripped and accidentally let go of Mercy’s leash. Mercy decided to take off, and sadly, the walker could not find her after that.
Adkins and Pequeño were heartbroken. They spread the word about their lost dog, and they began searching right away. They posted updates on the Austin Lost and Found Pets Facebook page and tried to reach out to as many people in the area as possible. Lots of kind dog lovers helped them with their search.
Mercy was Found!
Traps were set to try and catch Mercy, and luckily, one of them caught footage of her passing. She was found in the woods, and her family used a rotisserie chicken to lure her back to them. Now, she is home again, and getting medical attention to make sure nothing bad happened to her while she was lost. They believe she was struck by a car, but the injuries don’t appear too severe.
The family understands that accidents happen, and they don’t believe that the dog walker meant to set their dog free. However, they are still upset after hearing how many horror stories about Wag! there are. They believe that Wag! should be training their walkers more thoroughly.
“I wouldn’t have booked this service had I known they lost dogs before because this is just my worst nightmare,” said Adkins.
Wag! tried to help find Mercy, they reimbursed the family for the traps, and they even fired the person that lost her, but Adkins and Pequeño felt like the company could’ve done more to help the situation. They believe that some major changes should be made to keep dogs safe from now on.
This is Not the First Wag! Incident
While a dog walking service like Wag! is a great idea for dog lovers, there have been lots of reports of dogs getting lost, hurt, or even killed! Many dog parents use Wag! thinking they are getting a trustworthy sitter, but oftentimes, that is not the case. There are definitely some great individuals on Wag!, but it’s difficult to know who to trust at this point.
In order to make Wag! safer for dogs and their families, some believe they should really create a more thorough hiring process. They do require their walkers and sitters to go through background checks and take quizzes, but they could also have detailed one-on-one interviews in place in order to really get to know the people they’re hiring.
Many wonder that without an in-depth interview, how can they be sure that they’re hiring someone that’s truly passionate about dogs? Nothing on the Wag! application process requires the applicants to talk personally to a Wag! representative, which is a bit of a red flag for dog parents. Perhaps they could fix these issues before more dogs get hurt.
H/T: kvue.com
Featured Image: Miles Pequeño Facebook
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via Whisker Therapy