PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — A woman who lives near Boca Raton faces an animal cruelty charge after a Belgian Malinois in her care had to be treated for puncture wounds and an infection on its neck.
Jennifer Meeks, 39, was a pet sitter on the Rover app when she accepted a pet sitting job from the dog's owner, Palm Beach County Animal Care and Control said.
WPTV reporter Joel Lopez speaks to the dog's owner about the ordeal
The investigation has been ongoing since September but WPTV broke the news to the family that Meeks had been arrested.
"If you're somebody who lives in Palm Beach County and you want to be a Rover and you sign up on Rover saying that I live in Palm Beach County and live at this address, well Rover should request the licensing for that county," said Brian Millard. "You're in Palm Beach County. We need a license saying that you're licensed in the county to handle animals."
The family said Meeks had multiple 5-star reviews and had a meeting with her. Due to the length of time of the boarding and the cut Meeks would receive from Rover, they agreed to hire her independently, not through the app. A decision they said they made as they ran out of options on where to house their dogs.
According to an arrest report, Meeks agreed to watch the owner's two dogs from Sept. 2 through Oct. 11 of last year. However, two weeks into the job on Sept. 15, Meeks called the dog's owner to inform him the 10-year-old dog named Abel had puncture wounds on its neck.
The family said they paid Meeks $2,018 to board both of their dogs for 25 days, while they settled their move and were staying in a location that didn't allow animals.
The owner immediately picked up his dog and took it to the veterinarian, where it had to be sedated for treatment of multiple puncture wounds on its neck.
"It's a pretty bad infection that he had on his throat and where his injury was over his trachea," Millard said. "It could have killed him.”
Palm Beach County Animal Care and Control got involved after receiving a complaint of animal cruelty.
The vet's findings, according to the arrest report, said Abel sustained the puncture wounds from prolonged use of a prong collar and "inappropriate use of a dog prong collar while in the care of a pet sitter."
During questioning on Sept. 20, Meeks admitted that the dog's owner advised her of the prong collar but said she did not see it until two weeks into the job when she called the owner.
Vet bills from the injury resulted in $1,000+, not accounting for the money they spent to find a pet-friendly rental, after taking their dogs back from Meek.
"The money is not my concern," Millard said. "My concern is that people's animals are well taken are of when they need to have them boarded for whatever purpose that may be."
The arrest report also said that Meeks was boarding pets without a permit.
Following an investigation, Meeks was arrested Tuesday on an animal cruelty charge.
Palm Beach County jail records show she posted $5,000 bail and was released from custody Tuesday afternoon.
The family said they've used Rover in the past and have never had issues. Meeks' Rover account has since been suspended.
Rover sent WPTV the following statement regarding the incident:
While this service wasn’t booked on the Rover platform, our team takes the safety of our community seriously. Our 24/7 Trust and Safety team continues investigating and has suspended the sitter's account. We are committed to working with law enforcement to the fullest extent possible should they reach out.
All sitters must pass an enhanced background check and a safety quiz before offering services through the Rover platform. A member of our team also reviews every profile before a care provider can post their service offerings.
The Rover Guarantee covers all services booked and paid for through the Rover platform. It includes up to $25,000 in reimbursement for eligible expenses, such as veterinary care. Additionally, our 24/7 Trust and Safety team is available to assist in the rare instance a service doesn’t go as planned. While this was not a Rover booking, we have been in contact with Abel’s family, and extend our best wishes for his full recovery.
For additional context, this type of experience is genuinely unusual on our platform. Over 450k stays have been booked by pet parents in Southeast Florida, with over 98% of reviewed stays receiving a 5-star review.
