‘Blue,’ a 6-month-old Bernedoodle, was last seen near the 800 block of Fletcher Avenue in Tampa close to the caretaker’s home.
TAMPA, Fla. — A puppy who was in the care of a Rover sitter went missing on the evening of Jan. 28 from a Tampa home.
Since then, the pet owners of 6-month-old Bernedoodle ‘Blue’ have not stopped searching for answers.
Shelby Caldwell and Zach Evers went away to Washington D.C. for a work trip last month and entrusted their new dog with a sitter through the Rover app for the first time.
“I actually told the Rover before we left that ‘please watch after Blue. He’s our baby, he’s our everything,'” Caldwell said. “She has a young kid and she also has a puppy, and she said ‘trust me, I know how you feel. My dog’s my baby too.’ So when we got that call that night, it was honestly just the most heartbreaking thing.”
The couple said the circumstances surrounding his disappearance remains unclear as the sitter has changed their story multiple times, and eventually, blocked all communication.
Surveillance video from a nearby office captured Blue running around the parking and building around 7 p.m. before entering the 800 block of Fletcher Avenue just before the I-275 overpass.
The video shows the driver of an SUV hit the puppy. Blue then runs westbound toward the direction of the onramp. The couple said there have been no confirmed sightings of him since.
“It was most likely an accident,” Caldwell said, “We completely understand, and we’re not upset about the fact that he got out. It’s the fact that we still, to this day, don’t fully understand exactly what time he got out, exactly what information they know about him getting out and just details like that that will be extremely helpful in our investigation into trying to find Blue.”
10 Tampa Bay left messages with the sitter but did not receive a response on Wednesday.
A representative with Rover sent 10 Tampa Bay the following statement:
“Most Rover team members are pet parents, and our hearts go out to Blue’s family; we join them in hoping for a healthy and swift reunion. Our team has conducted a thorough review of this situation, and the pet care provider involved is no longer able to offer services through the Rover platform.
Prior to offering services on our platform, all care providers must pass a background check provided by an industry-leading third-party provider. More information can be found here. Before going live on the platform, a Rover team member reviews every profile, and sitters must also pass a safety quiz.
In the rare event that a pet is separated from a care provider, our 24/7 Trust and Safety team works diligently to support search efforts. We utilize various options to best support efforts to reunite the pet with their family. We will pay for flyers to be hung in the search, post in online pet-finding forums, which send alerts to local veterinarians and shelters, and sponsor a significant reward. We also engage our local community of pet care providers to alert them of search efforts.”
The representative added that pet owners in the Tampa Bay area have used Rover to book more than 430,000 stays with more than 98% receiving 5-star reviews. In the ‘terms of service’ listed on the company’s website, it states:
“Though we provide general guidance on our Site to Service Providers about safety and pet care and to Pet Owners about selecting and engaging Service Providers, Rover does not employ, recommend or endorse Service Providers or Pet Owners, and, to the maximum extent permitted by the applicable law, we will not be responsible or liable for the performance or conduct of the Service Providers or Pet Owners, whether online or offline.”
“What they revealed was that they are simply the third party that connects pet owners with pet sitters,” Caldwell said.
While weeks have gone by, the couple continues to seek answers. Flyers have been printed and shared on social media plus neighborhood apps. Veterinarian practices and shelters have been checked. A pet investigator who used tracking dogs to find Blue’s trail and multiple drone recovery companies were hired that use thermal detection in their search. Still, Blue remains missing.
The cost associated with the search has cost the couple thousands already.
“I believe they [Rover] could deploy resources on the ground whether that’s a network of other sitters in the area using an algorithm or providing a service like scent tracking dogs,” Evers said. “They have the ability and network to do that.”
“We understand they can’t provide endless amounts of money towards resources like that but if they at least gave you a lump sum that you could use at your discretion towards what you thought would bring the most success in finding your lost pet,” Caldwell said.
The couple is now leaning on the community for closure in bringing Blue home to include speaking with the driver who hit their puppy to gauge his condition afterward.
If you have any information or want to report a potential sighting with picture or video evidence to help validate the dog in question, please contact Shelby Caldwell at 775-742-5886 or shelbyjcaldwell@gmail.com.
A $4,000 reward is being offered for Blue’s safe return.
“We honestly waited two years to get a dog, so it’s just super heartbreaking that once we found the perfect puppy and once we brought him home, he brought us so much joy that we thought he could trust someone,” Caldwell said.
