A California dog owner is at a loss on how to find her missing pup. Gabriella Sidhu’s French Bulldog went missing in September after being left with her Rover sitter for only 14 minutes. The French Bulldog, Mushie, has vanished. And with little answers or help from the dog walking app, Sidhu is turning to the public to help her find her missing dog.
Speaking with PetHelpful, Sidhu of Los Angeles, says that they’ve taken “every avenue” in finding the Frenchie. But sadly the dog still hasn’t popped up.
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Courtesy of Gabriella Sidhu
Understandably, Sidhu is heartbroken. “We are desperate for answers and any opportunity to get more eyes looking out for Mushie,” she tells PetHelpful.
The dog mom says that she left her French Bulldog with a sitter from Rover, an app that connects pet sitters and walkers with animal owners, on September 17. But a mere 14 minutes into watching the Frenchie, the sitter, who hasn’t been identified, allegedly called Sidhu and told her the worst happened.
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“Based on what the sitter told us, she got out of the gate somehow,” Sidhu claimed to KTLA 5. “We got a call from our sitter after we’d just left, saying ‘I lost your dog, she ran out – I don’t know how, I don’t see her on the cameras, I don’t know where.’”
“She was lost in North Hollywood, California near Victory Blvd. and Beck Ave,” she adds to PetHelpful. “We live in El Sereno, California over 15 miles away.”
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Courtesy of Gabriella Sidhu
Sidhu tells us that she dropped the dog off at the sister’s house around 6:13 pm. The woman was allegedly familiar with the pup. “Since our best friend lived nearby, we chose to take Mushie out of the way to this sitter since she was the only sitter who had watched Mushie multiple times,” she says. “We thought she was trustworthy and knew Mushie’s demeanor well.”
At 6:27 she got the call. “We turned the car around and drove back as fast as we could. We spent the night searching ’till 2 a.m,” she adds.
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Courtesy of Gabriella Sidhu
After the incident, Sidhu says all she got were vague on the details of how the Frenchie got loose. “The circumstances as to how she went missing are unclear,” Sidhu tells us. “Rover has been unhelpful.”
What’s even more infuriating is that the woman was allegedly allowed to keep watching dogs via the app following the incident. She was “watching up to eight dogs one day, in which she shared she couldn’t help look or put flyers up because of how many animals she had in her care,” Sidhu says. “It wasn’t until we spoke to local news outlets that Rover removed the sitter from the platform.”
Since Mushie disappeared, Sidhu and her partner have worked tirelessly to try and find the dog.
“We have spent weeks searching for her and car camping in the area she was lost,” she tells PetHelpful. They’ve posted on “Nextdoor, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok,” making sure to check “craigslist and shelter websites every day.”
They’ve put up flyers “everywhere,” as well as, spoke to “neighbors in the area, emailing vets, rescues, and shelters in California as well as all local schools and libraries,” she says. “We even got a bloodhound out here to sniff for her scent,” she explains.
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Courtesy of Gabriella Sidhu
Sidhu says that Rover did offer a “small reward” for the return of Mushie, which the couple is “grateful” for. However Sidhu claims the company “declined requests for volunteers or the sitter’s assistance in the search.” Making it nearly impossible to track Mushie down.
“They ultimately removed the sitter from their site,” She adds. But it’s not enough. “They have not been able to obtain camera footage from the night she was lost and police are unable to get involved,” she says.
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courtesy of Gabriella Sidhu
What happened is unthinkable to any pet owner, Sidhu is asking that anyone who might’ve seen Mushie to call her at (760)-960-9272. She describes the dog as a “female spayed Black French Bulldog (Frenchie) with a white chest, no tail, and perky ears. She needs daily medication. If you see her, do not chase her,” she adds. The couple is also offering a $5,000 reward for their dog — “no questions asked.”
“We are lost,” Sidhu says. “We just want our baby back.”
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