Leia went ‘missing’ while under the care of a local pet sitter in Lakeway, TX.
We are sharing her story to raise awareness on issues involving dog care providers while diligently working to create changes that will help prevent this from happening to other dogs and their families.
FOLLOW OUR JOURNEY.
Latest Update: Tuesday, 12/2/25
Our legal journey has ended, and Pancho’s Law is now in effect in Texas.
We can finally share what we believe happened to Leia, honor the people who helped us, and close this chapter with peace.
1.5 year old – Female (spayed) – 16 lbs. – Red/Brown coat – Green Eyes – Pink nose – Chipped
Full Timeline
Our Journey
Follow Leia’s story from the moment we were told that she was ‘lost.’
Sunday 6/26/22
8:00am
Leia was dropped off with her brother (littermate) Luke at the dog sitter’s home in Lakeway, TX.
Ruby (my wife + Leia’s human) and I (Kevin) had arranged to pick up both Luke and Leia at 8pm that evening after our outing that day.
This dog sitter had watched both of the dogs the day prior and two other times many months ago. Our dogs had met the sitter’s two dogs before and there had been no issues we were told about.
3:36pm
We decided to come home early and text messaged the dog sitter that we would like to pick up Luke and Leia around 5pm.
The dog sitter texted back and said that Leia had escaped along with her sister’s dog about 15 minutes before we had first texted. We were about 45 minutes away and driving faster and faster.
4:19pm – 9:15pm (100+ degree temp)
We arrived at the dog sitter’s townhouse complex that backs up to a pond and the Lakeway golf course. Ruby was on foot while I searched the surrounding streets in my truck.
We stopped everyone we saw outside and no one had seen Leia or the sitter’s sister’s dog. At around 5:30pm we took Luke home; he had been howling inside very loudly.
We were told the sister’s black lab mix had pushed open the back door and wrought iron gate, and that Leia followed. Luke and the other dogs stayed behind.
We posted on Nextdoor, printed flyers, activated Leia’s chip to LOST status, and contacted Lakeway Police Department Animal Protection Officer Andrea Greig.
We spent the entire evening searching. Still, not one single person we spoke to had seen Leia.
Leia was wearing her baby-blue harness and identification tags.
Monday 6/27/22
6:12am – 2:30pm
We started searching as the sun began to rise, covering the Lakeway golf course, creek, pond, and Smith Greenbelt without a single sighting.
Many wonderful people in the Lakeway community said they would search and continue searching. We are so appreciative to y’all, and you know who you are.
Leia was wearing her baby-blue harness and would have been easy to spot. She had tags with both our phone numbers and loves people.
No calls. No sightings. Nothing.
2:45 – 5:00pm
Officer Greig advised us to contact local vets and shelters and to better understand what happened at the sitter’s home. The entire Lakeway area was canvassed with flyers and we spread the news across social media.
We noticed the dog sitter and her sister had not put up signs or posted about the sister’s missing dog during the first 24 hours. We met again to go through their account of the back door and gate being opened.
5:30pm
A large thunderstorm moved in. We were told the weather could cause a lost dog to hunker down and emerge the next morning. The rain, lightning, and another sleepless night came.
The community helped spread Leia’s information.
Tuesday 6/28/22
7:05 – 8:00am
We returned to the townhouse complex and searched near the pond, creek, wooded area, and golf course. Officer Greig patrolled the complex soon after we arrived.
At 7:56am we received a text saying the sister’s dog had been returned by an unidentified worker who supposedly found the dog near Lakeway Market.
8:20am
We met Officer Greig at the market. The owners reviewed camera footage and did not see any loose dogs or commotion. Neither Officer Greig nor we had seen the described truck at the townhouse complex.
9:15am – 3:00pm
We searched surrounding streets and wooded areas, printed more flyers, and took them to pet stores, groomers, vets, and shelters.
5:30pm
We brought Luke to walk the golf course and surrounding areas, hoping his scent or bark might bring Leia out. As littermates, Luke and Leia were attached at the hip.
Wednesday 6/29/22
6:30am – 5pm
We brought Luke out early to walk the golf course loop and surrounding streets. We stopped every person walking a dog and asked whether they had seen Leia.
Still nothing. No calls. No sightings. No sign of her baby-blue harness or collar anywhere.
Ruby continued searching and hung Lost Dog flyers at local businesses. More people reached out, walked the streets, and searched online listings.
Thursday 6/30/22
6:30am – 5pm
We searched surrounding greenbelts and moved toward our home, about a ten-minute drive away, with no success.
We offered a $5,000 reward, printed 100 flyers, and spread them across Lakeway and online.
At the advice of a neighbor, we hired Kat Manning of Dog Gone Detectives and arranged for her trained tracking dog, Blizzard, to follow Leia’s scent the next morning.
Friday 7/1/22
6:20am – 8:30am
Blizzard smelled Leia’s crate bedding and followed her scent throughout the sitter’s side of the townhouse complex.
Near the busy street and on the golf course, Blizzard signaled that the scent stopped. Kat surmised that Leia never left the townhouse complex property lines by running away.
We were unable to search inside the sitter’s home because she had left town the evening before.
4:30pm
We created FindLeia.com so the story, timeline, and photographs could be shared widely in case Leia was being held or sold elsewhere.
Saturday 7/2/22
10:00am – 4:15pm
We distributed new flyers at area dog parks. The website had already been shared 1,500 times.
A couple reported seeing a dog that matched Leia near Lakewood Avenue. More than 20 people arrived to search in 100+ degree heat. Hours later, we learned a nearby family’s Goldendoodle had gotten loose and matched the report.
We are so grateful for everyone who showed up instantly to help.
5:30pm – 6:45pm
We returned to the Stoney Creek Cove complex and spoke with neighbors about their security camera footage. We learned neighbors had not been alerted on Sunday as we had been told.
Neighbors and strangers showed up in the heat to help search.
Sunday 7/3 – Monday 7/4/22
Community support
People from Austin and around the country asked how they could help. A GoFundMe was created to support the search and investigation; unused search funds were intended for TRAPRS, a nonprofit specializing in trapping, rescue, and pet recovery.
On July 4, we attended the Lakeway parade with posters and signs so neighbors who were not on social media might see Leia’s information.
More community members contacted us with what they had seen, what they had not seen, and their own experiences. We remain grateful to everyone willing to help us get closer to the truth.
Wednesday 7/6 – Friday 7/8/22
A second K-9 tracker
Ten days had passed without a single confirmed sighting. The reward was raised to $10,000 for Leia’s safe return.
Ruby met with a second K-9 tracking team, Kim and Alexia of Lone Stars K-9 Pet Trackers, to verify the first team’s findings.
After an extensive 2.5-hour track around the complex, golf course, pond, church, streets, and brush, Alexia repeatedly returned to the point of loss.
Leia never left the townhouse complex property lines by foot or paw.
11:35am
A former client contacted us and described her own small dog returning from the sitter with serious injuries and trauma. We want to emphasize that this was never a judgment about a breed. This is about negligence.
Monday 7/11 – Thursday 7/21/22
From Ruby (Leia’s mom)
“I wish we had more to update. Still no sightings. No tips. We are navigating grief, anger, frustration, sadness, and hopelessness while praying every day for a miracle.”
“I think we’re all feeling overwhelmed and exhausted. I wish the laws made it easier for us to investigate, and I will be joining other families in helping to create change so dog families are more protected and supported.”
Wednesday 7/13/22
We learned the townhouse where Leia went ‘missing’ had been listed for sale. It was later not sold.
Friday 7/15/22
Past dog-sitting clients connected the story and contacted us with troubling experiences. We began collecting more testimonies.
Thursday 7/21/22
With nearly a month gone and no viable sightings, we continued sharing Leia’s images in case someone had unknowingly purchased a stolen dog. We do not fault an unsuspecting person who may have bought her.
Friday 8/19/22
A legal step forward
We filed a lawsuit and moved closer to preventing this from happening to other dog families.
We had been collecting evidence to support the case. We remain deeply grateful to everyone who supported the search and legal journey.
We cannot do this without the support of our beloved community. From the depths of our hearts, thank you.
Together, we will #FINDLEIA and bring her home.
With gratitude, Kevin, Ruby, and Luke
Thursday 8/25/22
Stories from other families
Families reached out with their own heartbreaking stories. It became overwhelmingly clear that better regulations were needed for independent pet sitters, boarders, trainers, groomers, and other service providers.
The first step was collecting stories from families whose beloved dog suffered while under someone else’s care.
We sat down with FOX 7 Austin to share Leia’s story.
The interview allowed the story to reach more people and build support for safer care standards.
A witness said she had spoken with a woman who offered a “cinnamon colored labradoodle for sale, possibly even two Labradoodles,” but could not provide proof of ownership, veterinary records, or basic health information.
Because of this, we believed there could be more people who had heard about a cinnamon-colored labradoodle for sale and asked them to come forward.
We also asked veterinary technicians and veterinarians to scan any dog resembling Leia for a microchip. She had distinct green eyes, a light pink nose, reddish-brown fur, and weighed only 16 pounds when she disappeared.
FOX 7 Austin Leia’s story reached a wider community through local news coverage.
Saturday 3/11/23
Although things seemed quiet on the outside, a lot was taking place behind the scenes.
We continued working on the lawsuit and assembling the evidence. The lack of regulation for dog sitters, combined with dogs being treated as property under the law, can make cases like ours difficult.
We were doing this not just for Leia, but for the hundreds of dogs killed, injured, or mysteriously lost while in the care of service providers every year.
We continued to consider two theories: Leia was sold, or Leia was killed or died while in the sitter’s care. There had been zero viable sightings supporting the first theory.
What we knew for certain was that two independent expert K-9 trackers found Leia’s scent only within the townhouse complex.
Thank you so much for your continued love, support, and prayers.
We believe that together, we will create a safer world for our dogs.
Saturday 8/5/23
To our beloved community: not a day goes by when we don’t feel gratitude for the support we received.
Our legal journey continued behind the scenes and had taken a toll mentally, emotionally, and physically. Yet our spirits and faith remained strong.
We promised to share more when it was safe to do so. We remained committed to seeking justice for Leia and creating a safer world for dogs.
Thank you for your continued love, support, understanding, and patience.
All our love, Ruby, Kevin, and Luke
Previous Update
Monday, 3/24/25
This is our first update in over a year, and we’d like to begin by saying THANK YOU for your continued love, support, and patience as our legal journey continues.
We were sued for defamation in June 2023, one year after Leia’s ‘disappearance.’ Since then, we had been navigating that lawsuit rather than our original case.
We know we have shown up with integrity throughout this journey and are confident that we will get through it. The legal system simply works at a much slower pace than we would like.
Any hateful or vengeful commentary toward those involved will only hurt us. We never pursued this for revenge or retaliation. All we wanted was the truth about what happened to Leia on June 26, 2022.
Thanks to the support of key witnesses, we believe we know exactly what took place. For transparency, we ended the active search for Leia in 2023. As much as we would love to share more, we cannot while the legal journey continues.
We continue supporting efforts to change laws surrounding animal cruelty and negligence. The best way to honor Leia’s memory and legacy is to help prevent this from happening to other families.
Thank you for your continued love, support, patience, and prayers. Let’s unite as a community to create a safer world for our dogs.
Leia, we’re doing this for you because your life meant something. Your legacy will live on.
With gratitude, Ruby, Kevin, Luke, and Spirit
Final Update
Tuesday, 12/2/25
This is the update you’ve been waiting for, and it’s also the one that feels the most challenging to write. I’ll begin by saying that this update is filled with amazing AND bittersweet news.
Let’s start with the amazing news…
Pancho’s Law was officially passed in September this year! This was the bill that we’ve been supporting alongside Pancho’s parents – a bill that took me to the Capitol to meet with Senators and Representatives as a way to help protect our pets.
Pancho’s Law adds criminal negligence to the existing animal cruelty statute, ensuring greater accountability from pet service businesses.
The core change in the law was the addition of “criminal negligence” to the Texas Animal Cruelty law for non-livestock animals.
Old Law:
An offense is committed if a person intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly harms or kills an animal.
New Law:
An offense is committed if a person intentionally, knowingly, recklessly, or with criminal negligence harms or kills an animal.
What this means is that if a pet suffers from injuries or death due to the negligence of a pet service provider, that business will face animal cruelty charges, which are criminal, not civil. This was a massive win for Pancho’s family, who have fought long and hard to make this happen, along with State Rep. Claudia Ordaz, who led the battle alongside them. This didn’t just happen for Pancho or Leia; it happened to support all pet families.
Pancho’s Law is officially in effect in the state of Texas, and we know that this will support pet families moving forward. This is a huge win!
Now for the bittersweet news…
Our three+ year legal journey has officially ended. As a recap, we were slapped with a $1M defamation lawsuit by the dog sitter and her sister, back in June 2023 – one year after Leia went missing. This happened shortly after we expressed our desire to drop our lawsuit because we had finally uncovered what we believe to be the truth about what happened to Leia, and the truth is all we ever wanted. Needless to say, we were shocked by this news. For the past 2+ years, we have been battling their lawsuit, not ours – defending ourselves while overwhelmed by additional legal bills.
But it’s finally over, and we can move forward.
The missing piece to this story is something we have not been able to share due to the defamation lawsuit. But now that it’s over, we can finally share what we believe happened to Leia, based on the evidence and testimony we collected.
Before I go into details, I’d like to remind you that any hateful or vengeful commentary towards those involved is not welcome. This has only hurt us in the past and led to the legal mess that we found ourselves in. We never pursued legal action for revenge or retaliation. All we wanted was the truth about what happened to Leia on June 26, 2022. Through our investigation, we believe we know what happened.
What we believe happened
We dropped Luke and Leia off at the sitter’s house, the morning of June 26th, 2022. Sometime after that, the sitter left the house, leaving the dogs at home with her sister. From what I personally witnessed later that day, there were at least 6-7 dogs at the house – more than we ever agreed to. From what we’ve gathered through the testimony of reliable witnesses, the sister also left the house, leaving all of the dogs home alone for a few hours.
We were scheduled to pick Luke and Leia up in the evening, around 8pm, but ended our day early and started driving to her house around 3:30pm. At 3:36pm, I texted the sitter to let her know that we finished early and would be there to pick up the dogs around 5:15pm, and that I’d text when we were 10 minutes away. We planned to pick up groceries before picking up Luke and Leia. She replied at 3:55pm, saying “Hey guys. Don’t want to alarm you but Leia got out. We are looking for her now.” That is the exact moment that our nightmare began.
This means that something happened to Leia between 8am and 3:55pm on Sunday, June 26th, 2022, and that this was the window we began piecing together with the help of witnesses.
On the same day, the sitter was booked to care for a neighbor’s dogs, but when the neighbor returned home, she found that her dogs had not been taken outside – they had pooped and peed inside their home. She also mentioned seeing dogs tied up outside the sitter’s home, going crazy and barking loudly around 2:11pm.
We received an affidavit from that neighbor, very early on in our investigation. But we were still missing information to piece together a timeline. During our investigation, we also spoke to multiple former dog-sitting clients, and here are a few stories we collected:
“I did a meet and greet with your sitter and one of her dogs reacted aggressively to my dog so obviously we didn’t ever use her.”
“The last time she did watch them [my dogs], when we picked up the dogs, they had completely destroyed a few of the beds. Which we knew right away that my poor babies had been locked up for a very long time.”
Another client shared that one of the sitter’s dogs was “a little aggressive” during the meet-and-greet, and the other dog was “very aggressive” towards him and his puppy.
Then there was the older couple who left their dog with the sitter for an evening while they went out to dinner downtown with family. The sitter texted them later, asking them to pick up their dog early because she was invited to go out. The couple told her no and said they’d be there at the previously agreed-upon pickup time, to which the sitter replied that she was going out and would leave their dog in the garage for them to pick up. This couple ended their evening early and raced back to pick up their dog before the sitter left, only to find her waiting outside her home, dressed and ready to go.
And finally, as we shared in our update on Friday, July 8, 2022, the client whose dog was attacked by one of the sitter’s dogs. She filed a police report after our case went public…
With all these testimonies, we began to recognize that there was a greater likelihood that something horrible had happened to Leia that day. Still, without her body or knowing what exactly happened inside the sitter’s home between 8am and 3:55pm on Sunday, June 26th, 2022, we had no definitive answers.
What’s also important to note is that throughout the first 6 months of Leia’s search, I was bombarded with upwards of 400 messages each day… via text message, social media, and Leia’s website. The majority of these messages were horrific, with people asking for ransom money while a dog was crying in the background, or being sent photos of ashes and being told that they ran Leia over and had her cremated, and worse. During this time, we also received a signed affidavit from someone who claimed that the sitter tried to sell her two doodles – something I want to reiterate, because many accused us of lying. Still, the fact of the matter is that we cannot control how other people show up. This person was insistent and gave multiple testimonies to the police and our P.I. We apologize for making that part of the story so public. It was a deeply challenging time for us, yet we were driven to uncover the truth.
The witness who gave us closure
But on December 4, 2022, almost 6 months after Leia went missing, everything changed…
We received a call from a witness claiming to have information about what really happened to Leia. Over the following 7 months, this witness had multiple, very consistent conversations with our Private Investigator and Investigating Officer, gave a statement to the police, and eventually took a polygraph, which we paid for. Not only was this witness consistent with their story, but they passed their polygraph with the examiner’s report stating “No deception indicated.” The report also shared the following: “The examiner’s grand total score for this examination exceeded the recommended cutoff for truthful classifications.” This witness passed with flying colors, and, based on this polygraph, their statements, their consistent interviews, and their willingness to help, we determined that their story was true.
What this witness shared was horrible to hear, but it was due to their courage to reach out that we feel we know exactly what happened to Leia. What this witness shared with us was that through a FaceTime call, they were shown the lifeless body of a small, reddish-brown curly-haired dog, bloody around the neck, lying on the concrete floor of the garage. A scene that the sister had walked into when returning home to the dogs that were left home alone. Leia’s body was then said to be dumped at the local church dumpster – a spot that I found myself at daily during the first two weeks of our search. It was as if my body knew where she was, but I didn’t have the information to find her. Thanks to this caring witness, we now have closure.
We believe everything the sitter and her sister told us was a lie. It’s why we couldn’t find any evidence to back their story, and it’s also why both of our K9 trackers couldn’t locate Leia’s scent off-site… Because she never ran away.
The amount of harassment I received on Nextdoor, from neighbors complaining about my frantic posts about Leia, was disheartening. Because at the end of the day, something awful did happen, and we were seeking information from our community. But I am so thankful for everyone who chose to show up for us – perfect strangers who supported us with love, kindness, and generosity, helping us feel seen, heard, and believed while others kept gaslighting us.
What happened to Leia is not ok, and for Luke to have witnessed all of that makes our hearts cry. Once we found out what happened, Luke’s trauma made sense. We could finally identify why he started having seizure-like episodes shortly after June 26th, 2022.
The worst part about this is that if they had just given us Leia’s body, we would have been upset. Still, legally, the only consequences the sitter would have faced would have been a “Dangerous Dog Designation” and the shutdown of her business (which is what happened anyway). They could even have lied and said they were home when it happened, and there would have been nothing we could have done about it… But we would have had Leia’s little body and the closure that we deserved.
Moving forward
So here we are, 3+ years later, and Leia’s journey has finally ended. Not only did this cost us tens of thousands of dollars, but it also cost us 3+ years of our lives, livelihood, and well-being. Yet here we stand, stronger than ever as a family, with the addition of Spirit (Luke & Leia’s niece), rebuilding our lives and finding joy again. This felt like a nightmare that didn’t need to happen.
As dog parents, we now understand the importance of practicing extreme due diligence when finding pet service providers. Although we did our absolute best to vet this sitter, seek references, and do a meet-and-greet, we didn’t account for the fact that not everyone posts a bad review, nor did we account for human behavior. Our eyes were ripped open on this journey. As I continued to advocate for other dogs, collect stories from families that experienced similar tragedies, and help other dogs be reunited with their owners, we saw just how often these things happen.
From what I’ve seen, dogs go missing or are injured almost every single day while in the care of pet service providers. This is why I am choosing to share Leia’s story. Raising awareness of her story and others like hers will help pet parents become more aware of the dangers within the pet service industry.
If you’re reading this and feeling a surge of emotions, please channel those emotions into something positive. Hug your pets, family members, friends… Tell them how much you love them. Refuse to comment with hostility towards those involved and instead, choose to celebrate the ending of this chapter for us and for Leia. We have shown up with integrity throughout this journey, fighting only for the truth, and now, we are choosing to step into a new chapter and give our pups the best life possible.
Leia’s life mattered.
And we are confident that her story will help pet parents everywhere. Please share her story, and know that our family is truly at peace with her passing.
Leia is now our Guardian Angel, and we know she’s watching down on us, happy to see Luke happy again as he forges a new relationship with their niece, Spirit.
To our beloved community…
Thank you for everything. You showed up for us in such a big way, sharing her story, making donations, helping us search… and for that, we are infinitely grateful. And we are also thankful to have been Leia’s parents in this lifetime… albeit a short experience together, it was one that has left a profound impact on our lives.
Leia’s Legacy
What Next?
We will continue to share Leia’s story to raise awareness and help prevent this from happening to other dogs and their families.
We appreciate you and are deeply humbled by the support and compassion we’ve received from our community. Thank you for being here.
