BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. – A Cocoa woman who worked as a pet sitter on Rover.com was sentenced to one year of probation after a dog in her care died of heatstroke, court records show.
Heather Chambers, 33, pleaded guilty to a charge of cruelty to animals, according to a document released Wednesday.
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In addition to serving probation, she was ordered to pay $1,000 in restitutions to the dog owner, complete a 12-hour animal cruelty and prevention class and 40 hours of community service, not care for others’ pets for two years and not contact the dog owner in the case.
Chambers was initially arrested on Oct. 14, 2022, after deputies said she was taking care of two dogs at her home for a family out of town. Later that day, she informed the family one of the dogs, Rolo, was found dead in her yard, an arrest affidavit shows.
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The family asked Chambers if Rolo had been left outside long, as he was brachycephalic and couldn’t be in the yard unattended, and she said he had not been, according to the affidavit.
Deputies said Chambers then told them she hadn’t seen Rolo for six hours leading up to his death and thought it was possible her children had left the sliding door to the yard open, letting the dog out, the affidavit reads.
The sheriff’s office said it later determined the dog died of heatstroke.
According to the affidavit, Chambers told deputies she tried “tossing him back and forth on the ground in the yard, as she tried to raise a response from him.”
Chambers’ boyfriend later contradicted her, saying the dog had been outside for a while.
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