Colorado dog sitter accused of stealing nearly half a million dollars in jewelry, owner says she met suspect on Rover app

By Karen Morfitt

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    Colorado (KCNC) — A Colorado dog sitter is accused of stealing nearly half a million dollars in jewelry. The owner, who asked not to be identified for safety reasons, said it slipped away piece by piece.

“She stole diamond necklaces, diamond tennis bracelets,” the woman who owned the items told CBS Colorado.

Months would pass before she realized pieces of her collection were missing.

“There had been no break-ins, no unusual people at the house,” she said.

Court documents list the names of everyone the woman says had access to her home. One of them was her dog sitter Azure Foster.

“She dog sat for us a couple times and eventually we started using her just to come to the house and water the plants,” the woman said.

The pair connected on a popular pet app called Rover.

According to Rover, anyone who joins is thoroughly vetted with an enhanced background check that includes a search of federal, state and county databases.

A CBS Colorado background check showed Foster had no felony criminal history in Colorado, but police say their investigation led them to Foster. Combing through pawn shop transaction records that include fingerprints and photos, detectives say over the course of several months, Foster allegedly pawned roughly $30,000 of stolen jewelry.

She was arrested by Cherry Hills Village police in May and charged with felony theft.

“There’s always going to be people that might get into a situation where they take advantage of an opportunity. Number one, start with a reputable company. But even then, when you are allowing people into your house you still must be mindful of your safety and security, so we recommend to everybody anytime you are inviting somebody in that you don’t know who they are, you have to do what you can to protect yourself and your valuables,” Cherry Hills Village Police Department Cmdr. Brennan Lenininger said.

Lenininger says in cases like this, it’s critical to follow the rules set up by the app, including keeping all payments and communication within the platform.

“Sometimes what we see is people that initially went through an app or a company to get these services, they pay through the service. (Then) they eventually bypass that and go directly through the person. We always advise against that, because you never know who you are dealing with,” Lenininger said.

According to arrest paperwork, all but one of the pieces of stolen jewelry was melted down or sold. None of what was stolen can be reproduced.

Foster appeared in court for a preliminary hearing on June 11. The hearing was continued. She will return to court in July.

CBS Colorado spoke with Foster by phone. She says she plans to hire an attorney and plead not guilty in the case.

A Rover spokesperson says what the dog owner alleges happened with this sitter is extremely rare and more than a million services have been booked by pet owners with the majority resulting in positive reviews.

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