Los Angeles couple asks for community help after Rover sitter loses dog

A Los Angeles couple is asking for the community’s help after their sitter, hired through the pet-sitting app Rover, lost their dog within the first 14 minutes of watching her.

Gabriella Sidhu and her partner have spent the past six days looking for Mushie, their 5 or 6-year-old Black Brindle French Bulldog.

Sidhu said the sitter lost Mushie near Victory Boulevard and Beck Avenue in North Hollywood on Sept. 17.

“Based on what the sitter told us, she got out of the gate somehow,” Sidhu recounted to KTLA. “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.’”

Sidhu said this sitter had watched Mushie multiple times before, but it wasn’t until recently she learned the sitter watches up to 10 dogs at a time.

“Rover let us know they can’t make the sitter help us search and she is still caring for dogs,” said Sidhu. “On Thursday, [the sitter] said she couldn’t be out searching because she was watching eight dogs when she just lost a dog out of her care.”

Sidhu said she has spent thousands of dollars on fliers and search efforts.

“It’s just devastating,” said Sidhu. “We are so lost.”

In a phone call with Rover after five days of searching, Sidhu said the company told her and her partner that they would close Mushie’s case if they didn’t receive an update soon.

“We have been searching day and night, sleeping in our car to be near the areas she was last seen since we are not from the valley,” said Sidhu.

Mushie has been spotted a few times since she first went missing in North Hollywood. On Sept. 19, she was seen in Toluca Lake at Cahuenga Boulevard and Camarillo Street, and by Toluca Early Education Center.

KTLA reached out to Rover for comment, and the company responded with the following:

Our hearts go out to Mushie’s family, and we join them in hoping for a swift and healthy reunion.

To support the search efforts, we have offered a significant reward for information leading to reuniting Mushie with her family, posted in online pet-finding websites that send alerts directly to local shelters and veterinarians, and reached out to members of our sitter community in the area. The reward and posts will remain active, and our team is ready to assist if anyone has information that helps bring Mushi home.

The well-being of all members of our community is a top priority for Rover. In the rare event that a safety issue occurs during a booking, our 24/7 Trust and Safety team will conduct a thorough investigation and take appropriate action.

For additional context, pet parents in the Los Angeles area have made over 1.4 million bookings through Rover, and 98% of reviewed stays have received five stars.

Sidhu and her partner are asking the community to help keep an eye out for her and call with any information: 760-960-9272.

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