Pet owner nightmare: Dog sitter shoots, kills couple's beloved pitbull, police say
HUNTERDON COUNTY, New Jersey (WABC) -- A couple in New Jersey is living a pet owner's worst nightmare after their dog sitter shot and killed their beloved pitbull, police said.
The couple, Lindsey Scalera and Andrew Beifus, dropped Remi off with a dog sitter in Readington Township before heading for vacation at the Jersey Shore earlier this month
The vacation was interrupted by two calls from the sitter, the first claiming that Remi was being aggressive with another dog. The second call shook the couple to their core: The dog sitter, Craig Cooke. called to say he had shot and killed the dog, claiming Remi had attacked his pregnant wife.
"I hear it over and over. He said I just put a buckshot in your dog's head. He went after my pregnant wife, come get your (expletive) dead dog's body off my property." Lindsey told Eyewitness News.
Cooke was charged with animal cruelty, but Scalera and Beifus say that doesn't go far enough to ease the heartbreak of their sudden loss.
They adopted Remi six years ago after New Jersey Pit Rescue saved the dog from an overcrowded kill shelter.
"The first time we met him, he just came bursting through my arms, licked my face and that was it. That was love at first sight," Beifus said.
The couple found the dog sitters through a Hunterdon County dog lovers website.
On the site, multiple people tagged the name of Kalli Cooke, who offered pet care services through the company Rover. Kalli Cooke is married to Craig Cooke, the man charged with shooting the dog.
"We had a meet and greet with her. Our dog was fine around her and she assured us that she was insured and bonded," Beifus said.
Not 36 hours into his stay, trouble ensued. Remi and another dog got into a tussle.
Scalera told the sitter the were ready to return from the trip to pick up the dog. The couple said Kalli assured them everything was fine and that Remi was confined to a crate in a room.
The sitters then sent the couple pictures of Remi hanging out with Craig outside.
A short time later, Scalera received the second call: Remi had been shot dead.
"He ran our dog down. And shot him twice in the head. For no (expletive) good reason," Andrew said.
Beifus called the police who worked with animal control to retrieve Remi's remains.
Craig Cooke was charged with one count of second-degree possession of a weapon and one count of third-degree animal cruelty, police said.
Rover said they banned the Cookes from their website and released this statement:
"The safety of pets and people on our platform is a top priority. As soon as we learned of these heartbreaking allegations, our 24/7 Trust and Safety team removed both care providers from the platform, canceled future bookings, and assisted any impacted pet parents with finding alternative care through Rover. We will continue to work with law enforcement to the fullest extent of our ability," the statement said.
Eyewitness News reached out to the Cookes and received no reply.
"This has just been a tragedy we never would have imagined," Scalera said.
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