‘He had been in distress’: family pet dies after allegedly being left in dog walker’s car

A Toronto family says the horrific news they received on Monday evening is something they would not wish upon anyone — their beloved pet had died in the back of their dog walker’s car after allegedly being left there for an unknown amount of time in 30-degree weather.

Jeff Cochran says their dog walker had been walking their four-year-old dog Chilly since 2019. He had also walked their previous dog Lucy starting in 2014.

Chilly had been taken out by the dog walker at 2 p.m. that day as per his normal routine and usually, he was returned within an hour. Cochran was working in the basement all day and mistook the sounds of a package being delivered around 3 p.m. as that of the dog being dropped off.

“I finished my day and came upstairs around 5:15 p.m. which would normally be the time to give him dinner,” he explained. “I noticed he wasn’t anywhere in the house … so I texted [the dog walker] to ask ‘do you still have Chilly?”

Cochran says he did not receive a response so he called 10 minutes later and the dog walker answered the phone “casually.” After he inquired about Chilly, he heard “rustling and commotion.”

“I heard on the phone [him] pushing through a door and running to the car and then screaming, saying ‘he’s dead, he’s dead.'”

Cochran says he was in shock and immediately called his wife Anne Chirakal. They soon went to pick up Chilly, who he says had been removed from the car, wrapped in a blanket and laid on the porch of the dog walker’s home.

They say the dog walker was seemingly too distraught to meet with them, but his wife was present to hand Chilly over.

“We looked at him – his tongue was hanging out of his mouth, it was blue, his gums were purple, his ear was soaked from lying in drool – it looked like he had been in distress,” explained Cochran, through tears.

He says the dog walker’s wife apologized profusely, saying they were “never going to do anything with dogs again” and offered to pay for Chilly’s final expenses, but he was too shattered to have that conversation.

“I just wanted to take my boy and go,” he said.

Cochran and Chirakal took Chilly to the vet so he could examine him and officially pronounce him dead.

“I was secretly hoping deep down he was just in some deep state that perhaps he could come back from, but no — he was gone,” he said. “So we made our cremation arrangements and said our final goodbyes to our little boy.”

“It was unimaginable grief,” said Chirakal.

The couple says Chilly was a 65-pound dog and they cannot comprehend how he’d be forgotten in the back of a car. They say he was young, strong and healthy and a single neglectful act cost him his life.

“To think what he would have gone through, shutting down and dying of heat exhaustion, its horrible.”

Cochran and Chirakal say they’re wracked with guilt and self-doubt, thinking over and over about what they could have done to prevent the tragedy.

“The fact that I’m here, I work from home, three blocks from where this was going on – if I’d had known I could have been there in a minute,” said Cochran.

A previous tragedy involving the same dog walker

Sadly, it appears Chilly’s death is not the first time this dog walker was involved in such an incident.

In 2018, another Toronto family went through a similar trauma with their dog Teddy, a rescue dog that had been with them for less than six months.

Clarke Struthers explains that his wife came home from work to find the dog missing, but the dog walker said he had dropped him off.

“We spent a couple of hours going through the city trying to figure out where the heck he could have been – knocking on doors, going to the dog parks — and then unfortunately about two or so hours later we got another call from the dog walker letting us know he found our dog Teddy in the back of his car,” he said.

 

Struthers also feels the dog walker was negligent and they reported the incident to the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, following which it went through court.

“There was a monetary fine — it was minimal. There was a requirement for community service to actually help with training and education of caring for dogs and he was responsible for disclosing [the incident] to all of his customers,” explained Struthers.

Chirakal says they were informed of Teddy’s death, but she says it was explained to them in a way that made them believe the dog walker was not at fault.

“We really thought it was a horrific mistake. We really believed him and we really did trust him. We would never have let him have Chilly if we had any trepidation — I [want] people to know that,” she said adding that she finds herself questioning their judgement and their trust in someone they’ve known for eight years.

“I really thought he was best for our dog. I really thought he loved our dog,” she said.

“How could this possibly happen again? I don’t understand.”

Struthers asked that same question when he heard about what happened to Chilly.

“It’s a terrible, gut wrenching experience. I definitely feel for the family,” he said. “This is obviously another human error by the same individual. It’s just so unfortunate.”

Calls for regulating dog walkers

Chilly’s breeder Suzanne Gardner Rosehart remains close with most of the families her dogs go home with. She says she was devastated when she heard of his death.

“[Chilly] was born in my hands … he was very special, he was the one boy in the litter,” she said. “I was really in shock and couldn’t quite comprehend what I was told on Monday night,” she said.

Rosehart strongly feels that an industry as large as dog walking must be regulated and overseen by a governing body.

“To know that another dog had suffered the same fate four years prior under the same gentleman is heart wrenching to me — how come [dog walkers] are not regulated?” she said. “I feel that they should be regulated, that they should have first-aid training, they should be bonded – they’re coming into your homes – they should all be insured as well as have liability insurance.”

Struthers agrees, saying dog walking is largely a word-of-mouth business that runs on good reviews and feedback from other dog owners.

“The dog walking community is very passionate about caring for dogs … [but] more checks and balances along the way would be great,” he said. “Hopefully through this event we can accelerate any type of legislation that’s required in order for people to properly care for dogs.”

Chilly’s family echoes those sentiments, adding they want to ensure there’s some accountability for his death.

“We’re not looking for money, we’re not vindictive people,” said Chirakal. “We’re looking for — that he is never in charge of the care of animals again.”

Rosehart agrees, saying the penalty needs to be more than just a slap on the wrist.

“I think the authorities need to be involved. I think this man needs to be accountable for Chilly’s death as well as Teddy’s. I don’t wish anybody any harm, but I want to make sure he never ever is allowed to have a business involving animals,” she said.

A police investigation is currently underway but no charges have been laid at this point.

Cochran and Chirakal hope the case will bring about some positive change in legislation to prevent a recurrence of such an avoidable tragedy.

“Chilly’s death can’t be for nothing, that would be even more tragic than it already is, so we need to find a way to make it mean something,” said Cochran.