Gabriela Masak Texas 5 star pet sitter avoids animal cruelty charges following the deaths of four dogs in her care amid heat exhaustion and other allegations, including presence of rat poison in dogs in her care. Houston prosecutors continue to deliberate whether to pursue charges.
A 5 star reviewed pet sitter in Texas has come under fire following allegations of animal cruelty after allegedly cramming dogs in her care into a tiny shed one recent evening leading to seven dogs being rushed to veterinary care for heat exhaustion, with four being pronounced dead.
Gabriela Masak of Timbergrove, had a five-star rating on dog-sitting app Rover from more than 900 reviews, leading to pet owners feeling secure that they could entrust their pet dog with the Houston based pet sitter. But it wasn’t to be.
5 star Rover pet sitter avoids animal cruelty charges
According to KENS5, Masak sent off ‘panicked texts’ circa 5 am on June 29 telling pet owners their dogs had suffered heatstroke and were being rushed to a vet in Houston.
Four of the seven dogs died, and the other three were in critical condition when they arrived at the vet. Those three have since recovered.
On the day of the animals’ deaths, the air temperature was 86F, which would have been higher inside the shed according to investigators.
In since recovered texts, Masak advised pet owners that she had put the dogs to bed at 10 pm only to wake up at 5 am to find her air conditioning had failed, which she blamed for their deaths.
The episode led to Masak being investigated by Houston Police Department animal cruelty investigators following the dogs’ deaths. To date, Masak has not been charged with a crime.
But there was more to come following the release of a toxicology report.
Reports the dailymail: ‘Owners of at least two of the dogs that died had autopsies conducted on them, and found traces of rat poison in their livers.
Resistance to cooperate with animal cruelty investigators
Neither dog had enough of in their system to be the cause of death, but the finding was further evidence the beloved pets were not kept in a safe environment.’
The report by a pathologist at Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory found 15.5 nanograms per gram of chlorophacinone, used in rodent poison.
Vets at Gulf Coast Veterinary Specialists said the concentration wasn’t enough to kill Goose, and heatstroke was still the presumed cause of death.
Adding fissure are claims that Masak and her boyfriend, Ryan Hilton refused to speak to BARC, the City of Houston’s municipal animal shelter and regulator, during investigations.
When a BARC officer arrived at the couple’s residence, Hilton is alleged to have shown the inspector a legal document stating that the couple were ‘not talking to any kind of law enforcement,’ the dailymail reported.
The officer was forced to ask a neighbor if they could come into their backyard and take photos over the fence, taking snaps of the dog shed where the animals died.
Dog owners left feeling betrayed
BARC wasn’t allowed inside the couple’s home until police obtained a search warrant.
Of note, BARC previously issued Masak a citation for not having a commercial pet service facility license.
The episode has since led to The Houston District Attorney’s Office ‘deliberating’ whether to charge Masak and Hilton with animal cruelty, or any other crimes.
Masak’s Rover profile has since been taken down, along with all her and Hilton’s social media profiles, the dailymail reports.
In the aftermath of the deaths, pet owners speaking to the outlet said they ‘were led to believe’ that their pet was the only one she was looking after, besides her own two dogs.
Those pet owners now say they feel they ‘were conned’ after discovering Masak had at least 11 dogs at her home.
‘We were lied to and deceived, we thought he was safe her house… we thought we had checked everything out, it’s shocking,’ Matthew Johnston, whose chocolate Labrador died, told the dailymail.
Another pet owner stated they hired Masak because of the prevalence of good reviews on Rover and many repeat customers.
They explained that there were no incidents, but the reports explained a lot of minor issues.
‘When we dropped her off the first time she did not take us inside the home to see the living conditions. We used her services 2-3 times and never saw the inside premises,’ they wrote.
‘Our dog would always have her chin and neck soaking wet, most likely because she was captive in that shed and she was chugging water to regulate her temperature.’
Their dog also each time came home with serious stomach issues where they had to seek weeks of medical attention.
Authorities continue to investigate.
