Jersey City Dog Left With Sitter, Both Mysteriously Disappear

This story has been updated — Mac was taken to a vet and died, according to his owner. Read the full update.

JERSEY CITY, NJ — Neighbors and dog lovers across Hudson County have rallied together to help a Jersey City man find his dog and uncover the mysterious circumstances of the pup's disappearance.

Diego Chaves hired a woman who he thought was a dog sitter, to watch his dog, Mac. At first, Chaves was in constant communication with the sitter, who went by the name Micaela — but on the day he arrived to pick Mac up, On Monday, Micaela stopped responding.

It took 24 hours for him to get a response from the woman, via email, which stated that she had lost Mac after he hopped out of her car — the woman said Mac ran off in the Jersey City Heights area near Baldwin Avenue.

Chaves took to Facebook to try to find Mac, and that's when he was flooded with similar stories from other pet owners who had interactions with a suspicious woman who went by the names Micaela or Alyssa. The sitter's email was associated with Posh Pet Service. The business' Facebook account lists an address in Cliffside Park, NJ and a New York City phone number that was out of service when Patch called on Wednesday.

The Posh Pet Service Facebook page has since been flooded with negative reviews from community members claiming a sitter stole a dog. One review from July 2, before the incident with Mac, reads:

"Didn’t show up for a scheduled appointment, leaving our dog alone for hours, and then ghosted us when we reached out to find out what happened. Continues to ignore our messages."

Chaves still hasn't heard any updates from the sitter or sightings of his dog. A Facebook group established by the community titled "Help Find Mac!" has gained 131 members and is filled with neighbors sharing tidbits of information on the sitter, work with the police and Mac's possible location.

A GoFundMe was started to fund a reward to find Mac — the fundraiser has raised $2,430 out of the $8,000 goal.

"All donations will go toward a reward for whomever is able to locate and return Mac to his owner, Diego Chaves," the post reads.