Goregaon family upset after pet sitter from hell refuses to return dog

Shubham Kothari with Neo before they handed him over to the accused

It is a time of great pupheaval for the Kothari family and their six-month-old pet Labrador, Neo. Three months after the Goregaon-based family trusted a family friend to take care of Neo for a few days while they went on holiday, the pet sitter is yet to return their dog. It turned out she had no intention of returning him at all, and she had even given them a fake address.

Goregaon businessman Saurabh Kothari and his family had purchased Neo as a 40-day-old pup in July 2017. "We had planned a family vacation for October, so we were searching for a kennel or a sitter who could care for our pet for four days," said Saurabh.

Saurabh's younger brother Shubham found a girl in his friends circle who agreed to keep the dog for four days. "She had told us that she resides in a highrise. We thought she would take good care of our pet, so we handed over the Labrador to her on October 27. We had also given her food and required medicines for him," said Saurabh.

But when the family returned to the city and contacted the girl, she allegedly refused to return Neo. "We tried to meet her but the address she gave us turned out to be fake," said Saurabh. It took several days for them to track down the girl's location in Santacruz, after which the family members approached the local police in November. However, the cops directed them to the Goregaon police station, as the pet was handed over in their jurisdiction.

On Thursday, the Kotharis went to the Goregaon police station, where Saurabh gave his statement to the police. A senior officer told mid-day the girl had also been summoned for her statement. "First, we have to see who is the legal custodian of the dog. Later, we will register a case in the matter," the officer said.

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates