Dog Vanishes During Stay With Sitter, Owner Pleads For Help In Union County

UNION COUNTY, NJ — A dog named Trouble vanished while staying with a sitter earlier this month. Now a Scotch Plains family is asking residents across Union County to look out for him.

On March 28, Meredith Davis of Scotch Plains told Patch she and her family dropped off Trouble and their other dog, Muppet, at the sitter's home in Garwood. She had been using this sitter for about a year and a half.

"I hadn't heard from her for like, a little over a day, and usually she would send me updates. So I reached out to her. I was like, 'Hey, is everything okay?' And she didn't get back to me that day," said Davis.

It wasn't until April 4 that the sitter finally texted Davis to tell her that Trouble had run away the day prior.

"I kept trying to call her, and she wouldn't pick up my phone calls all day. And I was like, 'Is he dead? What's going on? Why won't you answer my calls?' And she had my other dog still," said Davis.

That's when she took matters into her own hands and kicked things into gear. Davis started sharing social media posts online, called the police, and posted flyers in the area. All of which, Davis said, the sitter had done nothing.

While searching, Davis later found a Ring Neighbors post showing a dog matching Trouble in a yard on April 1, with a comment she said came from the sitter. Davis said that led her to believe Trouble had actually gone missing on March 31.

"I feel like I've failed him, and it's the not knowing. It's just horrible. This is my first baby of 10 years," Davis said.

She said the delay of not being notified right away of Trouble's disappearance cost the family valuable time because they would have searched differently if they had known when he first went missing.

Davis said she filed an incident report with Garwood police and has contacted police departments across Union County while following up on possible sightings.

She said no one has located Trouble, and no stray dogs brought in have matched him.

Davis even spent $1,000 for a drone service and another $2,000 for a K-9 tracking team that followed Trouble's trail through the area, but said his scent ended in Clark on Central Avenue.

She said Trouble was seen near Unami Park and later on Grandview and Virginia in Westfield. Another reported sighting placed him on Boynton and Georgia Street in Clark, where he ran into the railroad park.

Davis said the family has also posted flyers, knocked on doors, and shared information widely on social media.

"We're trying to ask anyone in that area to check videos," Davis said. She said the family has reached out to businesses, veterinarians, and other locations where someone may have seen him.

In the midst of this already devastating search, Davis has begun receiving threatening emails, texts, and messages.

"We're getting scam calls like every day, saying, 'Oh, I'm gonna kill your dog unless you send me $500', terrible. Terrible," Davis said.

For now, the family is focused on getting Trouble's photo in front of as many people as possible.

Davis said anyone in the Cranford, Clark, Westfield and surrounding areas who may have seen Trouble or has surveillance video from March 31 and on should come forward.

"It's just clear that someone has picked him up. Maybe not maliciously, but he could be anywhere, and so we just are trying to get the word out as widely and broadly as possible in case someone has him, or someone knows who has him, so that he can get back to us," said Davis.

Anyone with information on Trouble is asked to call or text Davis at 908-578-7953.

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