Man thinks robber may have accessed home through dog-walking app
A burglary in Houston has raised new questions over a potential problem for homeowners and pet owners that use dog-walking apps.
Jay Bostick, whose Montrose-area town house was robbed, told ABC News Houston station KTRK he was worried that a dog walker through the app Wag may have been the only person with access to the house.
"I thought our security systems were enough, but I guess not," Bostick told the station after the burglary on Saturday night.
Bostick, his husband and their two children were home upstairs when they apparently heard someone walking through the house, barricaded themselves and called 911.
Bostick was confronted by a female burglar with a flashlight and said he was worried about his kids.
"I screamed for my husband, I said 'Joe, grab the kids,'" Bostick recalled. "I just heard pounding, like she was taking off down the stairs. But I didn't know if there are more people in the house."
Responding police officers were able to review the family's Ring video which showed a woman pull up in a dark-colored car. The woman was seen punching in a gate code to their complex, then the code to their garage and a third door code to get inside the house, KTRK reported.
The dog walkers hired through the Wag app are the only people who would have had all three codes for the home, according to the Bosticks.
"I think we were maybe too trusting with our dog walking service, which I believe is where she would have gotten the codes from," he said. "I couldn't think of where else it may have come from."
The alleged robber dropped an array of items when Bostick confronted her but she still managed to get away with their wallets.
Wag did not immediately respond to ABC News' request for comment, but did send a statement to KTRK.
"Every service on the Wag! platform is insured and backed by the full support of our Trust and Safety team, which means in the rare case of an incident we will work directly with the pet parent and the appropriate law enforcement agency," the statement read. "In this case, our Trust and Safety team is in contact with the pet parents and will work directly with the police department to assist with this investigation in any way we can."
The Bosticks have since changed their security systems, installed cameras inside their home and removed the garage number pad.
Houston police are investigating, according to KTRK.
