Wag Dog Walker Arrested After Surveillance Video Shows Her Stealing From Client's Home

An employee of the dog-walking company Wag was arrested on Tuesday after surveillance footage showed her robbing a customer's home in Long Island, New York.

Shayna Bryan, a regular client of the app for three years, shared the video in a series of tweets. The dog walker was seen filling stolen goods into a huge purse while Bryan's two dogs looked on. Bryan alleged that the woman stole about $800 worth of items, including a handbag, makeup and jewelry. Bryan witnessed the entire incident on her phone while out on dinner. She then remotely set off an alarm and ordered the dog walker through a speaker system to return the goods in their place, but the woman ignored the command.

"I am writing this public letter to express my extreme disappointment in the lack of regard given to the recent situation in which your [Wag] employee’s priority was not to walk my dogs but rather to steal from my home," Bryan wrote on Twitter on Nov. 21.

In the video, a platinum-blond haired woman could be seen trying to stuff a heavy winter coat in the purse. After Bryan set off the alarm, she quickly returned the coat and fled the apartment with the other items. The woman was identified as Lisa Barrera, 22, from the Bronx, and later arrested and charged with larceny and petit larceny, the New York Police Department, said.

"To add fuel to the fire, a second video shows the walker failing to buckle [the dogs'] harnesses, leaving them vulnerable to running off, getting hurt or worse," Bryan wrote. "She completely compromised their safety."

Bryan immediately alerted the police as well as the company. But Wag did not respond to her multiple follow-ups over the next few days. She was "hesitant to involve the media" initially. However, the lack of initiative compelled her to take to Twitter and Facebook to share the incident.

"It took five days and basically a Facebook post going viral before they would respond, which was really disappointing and frustrating because I thought they would make something like this a top priority," Bryan told CBS2.

The walker's account was later deactivated and the company reimbursed Bryan for the walk.

"Every walker must pass a vetting process and a background check before being allowed to join the Wag platform," Heather Rothenberg, VP of Trust and Safety and Corporate Affairs at Wag, said in a statement. "Every applicant must pass an online test covering dog safety, equipment, and handling knowledge before we allow them on the Wag! platform to care for your dog."