Couple Blames Popular Dog Walking Service For Lost Chihuahua

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- An Upper East Side couple's beloved dog has gone missing, and they say a professional dog walking company is to blame.

Norman, a four-year-old chihuahua, wiggled out of his harness near 88th Street and 1st Avenue Friday night while in the care of a woman named Charlotte who works for the popular dog walking app "Wag!" and had never dealt with them before.

The pup's owners, Nicole DiCarlo and Cody Hunt, have been busy posting lost dog flyers in hopes of someone spotting him. They say they're desperate for him to return home to them and their other dog, Stanley.

"We're hoping that he's not out in these elements and that he's warm and safe," Nicole said.

Norman left behind not just his harness, but his identification tags which were attached.

Records show at least four New York City dogs have gone missing while on Wag! walks over the past three years.

CBS2 reached out to Wag! representatives, who say it's a very rare occurrence given more than one million successful dog walks nationwide since the company was founded in 2014.

That doesn't satisfy Norman's owners.

"I'm angry," Cody said. "We hold each other every day and cry."

Wag! says the dog walker has been suspended. Cody says it seems she waited and tried to find Norman herself and contacted the company before she told them the dog was missing.

Norman was last seen on building surveillance video nearby running towards Central Park a few hours after he got loose.