Dog-Walking App Worker Trashed UWS Apartment, Report Says

UPPER WEST SIDE, NY — An Upper West Side couple that used the application Wag to hire a dog sitter was shocked when they returned to their apartment and found the place wrecked, according to reports.

Joella Jones and Jason Ruff left their miniature pinscher Chico in the care of a dog sitter they found through the app on July 13 when they received a call days later from the sitter's partner, the New York Post first reported. The partner informed the fiancees that their sitter got drunk and threatened to jump off the couple's apartment balcony, the Post reported.

When the couple rushed back to their home it was in a state of ruin.

"We got home at 1 in the morning that night. The apartment was destroyed, a soy-sauce bottle had been smashed. There was blood all over our shower curtain and shower," Jones told the Post.

Further damage included: Wrecked custom cabinets, a broken screen door and a hole in a bathroom wall, the Post reported.

Months after the apartment was wrecked, the couple hasn't been reimbursed by Wag. A spokesperson for the application told Patch that the missing payment is due to a misunderstanding with the company's insurance provider.

"Our understanding was that our insurance company was working directly with the pet parents on resolving the claim and reimbursement. We’re dismayed to learn that the insurer has not brought the situation to an equitable and swift resolution," the spokesperson said in a statement. "

Wag apparently reached out to the Upper West Siders and is working to "find an expedited solution," a company spokesperson said.

The dog sitter accused of trashing the apartment had rave reviews before the July incident, a Wag spokesperson said. The person passed the company's background tests and had a rating of 4.96 out of 5 with more than 300 jobs completed for the service.

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