'Only leave your pets with the best' warns heartbroken owner whose dog disappeared when she was away
A distressed dog owner whose beloved pet went missing in Walsall while in the care of a dog-sitter has warned owners not to trust unregulated companies with their animals.
Tracey Gray entrusted her beloved Dotty, a Cane Corso, to a company she found on social media after they promised to train during a residential stay.
However, after several ignored messages the man looking after her dog told her Dotty had run off over Barr Beacon. The man later blocked her on social media, leaving Tracey suspicious her dog has been sold.
After earning her trust the dog walker told her a series of tall tales, including that her docile Dotty had bitten him, and promised her he had spent hours searching for the lost pet.
Despite covering the area with posters of her missing dog, and the dog walking community launching an online campaign, Dotty has yet to be found - but other dog owners told her no-one had raised the alarm of a missing dog on Barr Beacon.
She has contacted Dudley and Walsall's trading standards departments, who have no record of the business, and West Midlands Police, who told her it is a civil matter.
Dog-sitting is an unregulated industry with some people now charging £50 a day.
