Help Find Leia the Mini Labradoodle

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 (6/25/22) and two other times many months ago.

Our dogs had met the sitter’s two dogs, a rescue boxer and boxer/pit mix before and there had been no issues we were told about.

3:36pm

We decided to come home early from our day out and text messaged the dog sitter that we would like to pick up Luke & Leia around 5pm.

In brief, the dog sitter texted back and said that Leia had escaped along with her sister’s dog about 15 mins before we had first texted.

We were currently about 45 mins 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 between the 4th and 6th hole.

Ruby (Leia’s human) is on foot while I (Kevin – Leia’s other human) am in my truck looking in the surrounding streets within a 1-2 mile radius.

We stopped everyone we saw outside at that time and no one had seen Leia or the sitter’s sister’s dog (a medium-sized black lab).

At around 5:30 pm we told the pet sitter we wanted to get Luke and take him home. He had been howling inside very loudly.

We asked the dog sitter how this happened. It was explained that the sister’s dog (a black lab mix) has a history of running away by opening the back door and wrought iron gate (but would always come back). While a couple of the other dogs were out for a walk, the sitter’s sister’s dog pushed the back door open, then pushed the wrought iron gate open on her small patio which is backed up to the pond in the backyard.

It was said that Leia was in the garage (kennel area) and she ran to follow the black lab mix (sitter’s sister’s dog) out the door. Luke, our other dog stayed behind and no other dogs under the dog sitter’s care ran out. Only Leia.

We immediately posted on the Nextdoor app that Leia was lost with all the information we had at the time, as well as, printed off a bunch of flyers we could tape up in the neighborhood and activated her chip to LOST status.

A few very helpful and concerned members of the Lakeway community had recommended we get in touch with Andrea Greig of Lakeway PD (The Animal Protection Officer). It was Andrea’s day off but she called us back promptly to understand the situation.

We spent the entire evening on foot, in our truck, scouring the neighborhood.  Still, not one single person we spoke to had seen Leia.

We gave up the search at around 9:15pm when it was far too dark to see.

6:12am – 2:30pm

We start searching just as the sun begins to rise and start a little higher on the Lakeway golf course in case Leia got a little further in the night when it’s a bit cooler.

With the summer heat, Leia typically looks for shade within 10 mins of being outside.

At this point, we hadn’t heard from anyone via Nextdoor that they’d seen Leia. Many wonderful people in the Lakeway community mentioned they’d be out searching to help and will continue searching. We are so appreciative to y’all and you know who you are.

We spent hours walking the golf courses, the creek, pond, and Smith Green belt without a single sighting. 

Leia was wearing her baby-blue dog harness and would have been easy to spot. Along with that she had tags with both our phone numbers on them and loves people.

No calls. No sightings. Nothing.

2:45 – 5:00pm

Andrea (Officer Greig) advised us to reach out to all the local vets, and shelters, as well as, better understand what happened at the time of the incident with the Pet Sitter’s sister’s dog.

At this point, the entire Lakeway area has been canvased with Lost Dog flyers, we spread the news via all social media platforms.

We had taken notice that at this point the dog sitter or the sister had not yet put up a single sign nor posted anything related to their dog to the Nextdoor app within the 24-hour period both dogs went missing. The pet sitter had only re-posted our original post with no mention of her sister’s lost dog. 

We texted the pet sitter to meet up and go through the story of what happened now that we were in a more leveled state of mind.

The pet sitter ran Ruby through what happened. Showed her the back door latch and wrought iron gate that the sister’s dog opened.

The sister of the pet sitter did most of the talking. She explained the story and thought the two dogs may have run left out the back door towards the golf course.

5:30pm

A large thunder and rain storm was coming in quickly that evening which broke our hearts knowing our little Leia could be somewhere outside.

Andrea said that this could be a good thing as the rain and thunder can have lost dogs hunker down for the evening and come out in the morning. She had planned on searching the golf course early the next morning and talking to the grounds keepers (who have been very helpful).

That evening, we noticed that the dog sitter had made a post on the Nextdoor app about Leia and the sister’s lost black lab.

The thunder, rain, and lightning showers came and we turned in for the (sleepless) evening.

8:20am

We met Andrea (Officer Greig) at the Lakeway Market where the black lab was said to be found and grabbed by this man within the last hour.

Andrea went to speak to the owners of the market who looked at the camera footage and didn’t see any loose dogs or commotion.

We had asked Andrea if she had seen an old truck at the townhouse complex that the dog sitter described since Andrea was patroling the complex in that general time frame.

She had not. We didn’t either.

9:15am – 3:00pm

We continued searching in a few of the surrounding streets and wooded areas. By this time, our original Nextdoor post was getting a lot of comments from concerned community members for Leia’s return. Many more came out to help.

Friends, strangers, and others shared Leia’s missing information across social media platforms as well as helped put up flyers, call rescues, and more. We are so grateful.

We went home to print more flyers that we took to local pet stores, groomers, and vets in the surrounding cities.

5:30pm

We resumed our evening search. This time we brought Luke, her brother (littermate) along in hopes that his scent or bark could bring Leia out if she happens to be hiding and scared somewhere in the brush.

As littermates, they are pretty much attached at the hip and run to each other the moment they see one another after being separated.

6:30am – 5pm

We brought Luke out with us early morning to walk the entire loop of the golf course and surrounding streets. We stopped every other person walking their dog on the course and asked if they had seen a Leia.

Still nothing. No calls. No sightings. No sign of her baby-blue harness or collar anywhere.

Ruby (Leia’s human) continued the search throughout the day and hung Lost Dog flyers at local businesses in the Lakeway and Bee Cave area.

More and more concerned members of the community reached out, walked the streets, and did legwork online to see if she was being listed for sale anywhere.

6:30am – 5pm

We went back out early morning to search the surrounding green belts and more towards the direction of our home.  We live about a 10-minute drive away.  All with no success.

It was time to up the ante and see if we could source any information or bring someone out of the woodworks.

We decided to offer up a $5,000 reward, printed off 100 flyers, and put them up throughout the city of Lakeway, Nextdoor app, and Instagram to get the word out.

Throughout the week people had suggested we look into a dog tracker.

At the advice of a helpful neighbor on Nextdoor, we hired Kat Manning from Dog Gone Detective to bring their trained dog out to follow Leia’s scent.

We arranged to meet Kat (the pet tracker) and her dog Blizzard at the townhouse complex early the very next morning.

6:20am – 8:30am

We met the Dog Gone Detective team at the Stoney Creek complex. Blizzard, the tracking dog, smelled the scent of Leia’s crate dog bed which we brought with us.

As Blizzard’s tail was up and her nose was to the ground she was following the scent trail.  If Blizzard lost the scent she would do a specific move where she’d roll on her back to cue Kat (the pet tracker) the scent stopped there.

Blizzard followed Leia’s scent throughout the pet sitter’s side of the townhouse complex.

When Kat went near the busy street (Lakeway Blvd.) Blizzard would do the move on her back to signal there was no scent.

When Kat took Blizzard onto the golf course which opens up to the townhouse complex, Blizzard did the move on her back to a signal the scent stopped there.

Kat (the professional pet tracker) surmised that Leia never left the entire townhouse complex property lines by running away.

We were unable to search inside the dog sitter’s home as she had left town the evening prior.

4:30pm

In an effort to get the word out even further, we decided to quickly create a website that can be shared across social media.

In the scenario that Leia is being sold in a surrounding city of the state, we want to get as many eyeballs on her photos as possible, plus share the timeline and story of this tragic journey.

10:00am – 4:15pm

We printed up a new set of flyers with the FindLeia.com website to take to the dog parks in the surrounding area to spread the word. By this time the website had already been shared on social media 1,500 times which is incredible.

On our drive back from Cedar Bark Park (in Cedar Park) we received a call from a senior couple who had spotted a dog that matched Leia’s description up near Lakewood Ave. He described her color, and size and said the dog looked kempt. That the dog darted out in front of his car and then into the brush.

We put out the word and when we got there, cars were already lined up and 20+ amazing people in the community showed up instantly to help us search for 3 hours in 100+ degree heat. God bless them.

At 3:55pm we discovered that a family who lived a few houses down (and just got back home from being out) had a Goldendoodle (which looked similar to Luke) that had gotten loose just before noon. This was about 45-60 mins before the couple called us.

I (Kevin) asked to see the dog. It matched the description.

We are so grateful for all who showed up to search in the heat. Seriously, it brings me (Kevin) to tears of appreciation.

5:30pm – 6:45pm

We went back to the Stoney Creek Cove townhouse complex where the dog sitter lives and where Kat Manning (the pro pet tracker) said Leia’s scent didn’t trail away.

We went to speak to each of the neighbors in the whole complex to ask if we could review their Ring Cam or other security cam footage from Sunday 6/26/22, the day Leia was last seen. Everyone was incredibly helpful.

We discovered that neighbors were not alerted on Sunday to the run-away dogs as the dog sitter told us via text message.

We also bought Luke a GPS Tracking collar.

7:30am – 10:00am

The city of Lakeway had a 4th of July parade through the streets very close to where Leia went missing. Ruby, myself, and another amazing woman from the community attended with posters and signs to drive awareness of Leia’s disappearance.

Since there are quite a few older folks that live in the area who may not be on Nextdoor or social media, we figured it may be a way to get their attention.

11:15am

Upon our return, home more neighbors from the community contacted us to share what they saw or didn’t see. Some of these helpful people know and have used the same dog sitter and shared their experiences and/or concern.

We are being very careful here not to name any of these helpful community members or share the exact details they’ve shared with us.

We greatly appreciate those community members who have been willing to make a formal statement.

Thank you so much for helping us get closer to the truth.

8:30am

A wonderful city official from Lakeway has taken a special interest in helping us find Leia. In a recent public post on the Nextdoor app, she named the dog sitter along with the factual timeline of what’s taken place since.

More helpful people who’ve used the same dog sitter have contacted us to help us fill in the details of Sunday, June 26th, 2022, and the days following Leia’s disappearance. Slowly, the truth creeps closer.

9:20am

It’s been 10 days since Leia disappeared from the dog sitter’s care at the Stoney Creek Cove Townhouse complex. Again, without a single confirmed sighting.

This morning we got notified about a deceased dog with similar characteristics on a trail up in Cedar Park, TX.  Ruby drove up to confirm whether or not it was Leia. It was not.

12:20pm

In the case that she’s being held to be sold we’ve decided to up the ante again and offer a $10,000 reward (easily 4×5 times what she could be sold for) for her safe return back to our home. We miss her. Especially, Luke.

8:00am

Ruby met with our 2nd K-9 tracker, Kim of Lone Stars K-9 Pet Trackers, to verify the findings from our first tracking experience.

Kim was referred to us by TRAPRS who have been hugely supportive in our search for Leia.

Kim’s (and her K-9, Alexia) tracking methodology was slightly different than our first tracker, and might we add, VERY thorough. They tracked for 2.5 hours straight, all around the townhouse complex, adjoining golf course, pond, across the street, at the Lakeway Church, and deep in the brush. Kim tracked our movement using an app that allows us to see the actual perimeter and findings of the tracking experience and where Leia’s scent was actually found.

No matter where they went, Alexia (the K-9) kept leading them back to the townhouse complex (ie “point of loss”). 

Kim and Alexia confirmed that Leia’s scent was not found off the townhouse complex property lines. Simply put, this tracker confirmed what our first tracker discovered…

Leia never left the townhouse complex property lines by foot/paw.

11:35am

Later in the day, we received a message on our website from someone who used to use the same dog sitter and we immediately hopped on a call with them.

In short, she shared that her little dog was viciously attacked by the sitter’s white boxer/pit and the sitter brushed it off like it was nothing, claiming that the client’s little dog and her dog simply had a “tiff” and that the client’s dog arrived with those injuries. When this client picked her dog up from the sitter’s home after being away for a week, her dog was covered in its own urine and completely traumatized.

After a visit with her vet where they ended up shaving the dog down to see the injuries, they found 3 dog bites on her little dog’s head and cuts around its eye. She sent us the photos which were extremely tough to look at.

This is not the first story we’ve come to learn about the sitter’s dog.

We also want to emphasize that we love pitbulls and this isn’t a judgment towards the breed itself.

This is about the dog sitter’s negligence.

4:30pm

From Ruby (Leia’s mom)…
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I wish we had more to update.⁣
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Still no sightings. No tips.⁣
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The sitter and her sister shut down all communication with us and many others as of July 1st. ⁣
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We are currently navigating feelings of grief, anger, frustration, sadness, and hopelessness while praying to God every day for a miracle.⁣
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I’m exhausted from all the messages and emails and phone calls, and despite feeling guilty for doing this, I have allowed myself to take a step back from my laptop this afternoon to rest.⁣
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I think we’re all feeling overwhelmed and exhausted. I wish the laws made it easier for us to investigate… and I can assure you that I will be joining Indy’s parents and Pancho’s parents in helping to create change so dog families like ours are more protected and supported during times like this.⁣
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With that being said…⁣
Thank you for your continued love and support. We’ve created a Facebook Page for Leia for those who are ready to help in bigger ways by volunteering their time. More on that coming soon.⁣

JOIN LEIA’S FACEBOOK PAGE HERE

12:30pm

We’ve learned that the dog sitter, Tammy Griggs, had put her Stoney Creek Cove, Lakeway, TX townhouse in which Leia went “missing”.

It goes without saying that this is increasingly concerning.

IMPORTANT:

We understand that MANY of you are upset, angry, and outraged by this entire story of what happened to our dog, Leia.

We are too.

*UPDATE: She did not end up selling her home.

11:00am

As the events of Leia’s disappearance have unfolded over the past 3 weeks we had intentionally not stated the name of the dog sitter, until now.

The Dog Sitter:
Tammy Lee Griggs (of Lakeway, TX)

The Dog Sitter’s Sister:
Tina Marie Griggs (of Lakeway, TX)

A few concerned past dog-sitting clients of Tammy put two-and-two together and reached out to us with their own troubling stories and encounters with Tammy and her dog sitting business, Sleep & S*it Dog Boarding & Sitting.

We are now in the process of collecting even more testimonies from past clients of Tammy and the experiences they’ve had.

9:40am

It’s been nearly a month since Leia disappeared. As we’ve mentioned in prior updates we believe one of two things happened to Leia based on all the people who have come forward to share their experiences and information regarding Tammy Griggs, the dog sitter.

In the event that Leia has already been sold to someone that likely has no idea they’ve purchased a stolen dog, we are trying to spread the word online.

If this is indeed the case, we don’t fault the person who purchased Leia.

Throughout this journey, we’ve become aware of so many dog “re-homing” sales on craigslist and various websites. While some are legit, it’s obvious many others are not.  The scariest are those that seem legit but are a clever front for selling stolen designer breed dogs.

Please help us share this image on social media in case an unsuspecting (good) person now has Leia.

We have filed a lawsuit against Tammy and Tina Griggs and are now even closer to preventing this from happening to other dog families.

This is why we’ve been a little quiet with website updates over the past few weeks. We’ve been hard at work collecting substantial evidence that supports and strengthens our case.

We want to express extreme gratitude to all of you who have supported us in various ways, especially those of you who generously contributed to our GoFundMe. We can’t thank you enough. Your donations are helping us immensely on our legal journey to bring Leia home, uncover the truth, and seek justice.

We’d truly appreciate your continued support. Here’s how you can help:

• Continue sharing Leia’s website far and wide.
• Join us on Leia’s Facebook page and Instagram page for daily updates.
• Donate to Leia’s GoFundMe to support our legal efforts. 

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

Throughout this horrific experience, we have had numerous families reach out to us to express their concerns and hold us in their prayers. Some even shared their own heartbreaking stories.

It’s become overwhelmingly clear that something needs to be done in order to have better regulations surrounding independent pet sitters, boarders, and trainers.

The first step to accomplishing this mission is by collecting stories from families who’ve suffered their own heartbreak while their beloved dog was under the care of an independent pet sitter, boarder, or trainer.

Do you have a story of your own?

We have a big update! Yesterday, we sat down with Carissa Lehmkuhl of FOX 7 Austin to share Leia’s story.

It was a huge moment as this allows us to reach more people and gain more support for Leia’s search and the changes we wish to create to help protect dog owners.

In this interview, we shared something we have not yet shared with anyone–something that can significantly support our search efforts and case.

A couple of weeks ago, a witness came forward and shared that they were in conversation with a woman with the same name as the dog sitter approximately 10 days before July 4th.

It’s been a while since we’ve shared an update, and for that, we apologize. We recognize how emotionally invested our community has become with Leia’s story and we feel it’s important to keep you in the loop.

Although things may seem quiet on the outside, there’s a lot taking place behind the scenes.

We’ve been diligently working on our lawsuit, piecing together all that we’ve collected through our investigation to create as strong of a case as possible. You may not realize this, but ours is a difficult case to make. The lack of regulations for dog sitters coupled with the fact that dogs are considered ‘property’ can make it difficult for dog families like ours to seek answers and/or justice. But we are relentless and we believe that we have a pretty solid case.

As we’ve shared many times before, we’re not just doing this for Leia. We are doing this for the HUNDREDS of dogs that are killed, injured, or mysteriously vanish while in the care of dog sitters each year. We’re doing this for all the families that have reached out to us (and continue to reach out to us) with their own horrific stories.

Read those stories here.

This is about seeking the truth.

With that said, we feel it’s important to circle back to the two theories that our team has always considered with regard to what really happened to Leia:

1) Leia was sold.

2) Leia was killed or she died that day while in the dog sitter’s care.

It’s important to note that we’ve had zero sightings of Leia. Not a single viable sighting or anything else that supports theory #1.

What we do know for certain is that Leia’s scent was only found within the townhouse complex property, and this was validated by two different expert K9 trackers.

With all of that being said… We’re still here, and we’re still taking a stand for the truth. And I say that intentionally because when you are on the side of truth, you don’t need to fight.

To those who know the truth about what really happened to Leia on Sunday, June 26th, 2022… There’s still time to do the right thing. Please come forward and share the truth. Let’s put an end to this nightmare.

To our incredible community of supporters…

Thank you so much for your continued love, support, and prayers.

We deeply appreciate your patience as we continue to navigate our lawsuit.

If you or someone you know has experienced a similar story, please share it with us HERE. We are collecting stories of dogs being killed, injured, or mysteriously vanishing while in the care of dog sitters, boarding facilities, dog groomers, and dog trainers to show our lawmakers just how rampant this issue really is.

We believe that together, we will create a safer world for our dogs.

We won’t rest until we bring Leia home and/or uncover the truth of what really happened.

We will be pushing this website far and wide so it’s seen throughout Texas, surrounding states, the country, and various parts of the world.

If Leia is being sold, we will not stop until her little face and name are everywhere and she’s recognized by someone who can alert us.

On top of that, we will be doing everything in our power to ensure this never happens to anyone else and the furry members of their families.

We greatly appreciate you and your help. We’re humbled by the level of support and compassion the people we’ve met, text messaged, and chatted with over the last week.

Kevin & Ruby Fremon (Luke & Leia’s humans)

And yes… Star Wars nerds.

instagram.com/doodlejedis/

Call and reach out to shelters in the greater state of Texas and surrounding states. Leia is chipped.

Research doodle rescues and call to see if they have seen or taken in a dog that looks like Leia.

Help search Craigslist, Facebook marketplace, and other places where people try and sell dogs and puppies.