The Humber Bay Shores community is questioning a local pet service business after a four-year-old dog went missing while in their care last week.
A four-year-old bichon-poodle named Barley was in the care of Neo-paws – a pet walking company located in the area of Lake Shore Blvd. and Brookers Ln. – when he bolted in the direction of Lake Shore Blvd. on Oct. 27. He has not been seen since.
The pet walking company has been accused by residents in the area online of losing multiple dogs while taking them off-leash in undesignated areas by the waterfront.
Joe Attie, the dog’s owner, said he specifically told staff, including the owner Roanna Sabeh-Azar, at Neo-paws that Barley was to be kept on a leash at all times.
“We never picked up Barley,” he said. “(We) got a call from Roanna saying they’ve lost my dog.”
In a Facebook post, Barley’s owners said they have accepted the fact that their beloved pet has likely died.
It saddens me to write this, but after 6 days of everyone's efforts, we are faced with the harsh reality that it is unlikely that Barley has survived. The lack of recent sightings have left us with little hope for his return, and everything seems to point to the fact he may have perished during the first 24 hours,” the family said in a Facebook post.
“While we have yet to confirm this through surveillance camera footage or finding his remains, several eyewitnesses sighted him on the Gardner immediately after his being let off his leash. Eyewitnesses have also confirmed they saw a small, white dog being hit while trying to cross the Gardner.”
Despite the circumstances, Attie said he is not directing his anger about Barley running off towards Neo-paws.
“I’m not hating on Neo-paws, it’s sad and it was obviously an accident.”
A witness of Barley’s escape, resident Sarah Sech-Land, told CTV News Toronto that the “leash was clearly off” at the time. Sech-Land noted that this dog walking company is known for having dogs off-leash in areas they should not be.
Another resident Michelle Colasuonno said “I’ve seen them (Neo-paws) on multiple occasions out with multiple dogs – six dogs at a time, taking them off-leash and there’s no one watching them.”
Speaking with CTV News Toronto about these allegations, Sabeh-Azar said she admits to facing charges for having her own dogs off-leash in the area but said she would never do that with her clients’ dogs.
“It’s true I was taking them to area which was not permitted to be off leash,” she said. “I’m new to Etobcioke.”
“It happens to all of us, some of my customers have lost their dogs. I’ve lost dogs in the past. The animal shelters are full of lost dogs.”
While some clients of Neo-paws said they’ve never experienced any issues with the company, others decided to peacefully protest outside of the store on Thursday.
One client of the business Tania Sempe said she has “never had any issues whatsoever.”
On the other hand, resident of the area Aastha Sahni said the company’s actions should not be tolerated.
“It’s one thing to do that with your dogs, which is against the law, but it’s another thing when you’re jeopardizing somebody else’s most prized possession and basically child,” she said.
