PFLUGERVILLE, Texas — Like any devoted pet owner, Shemeka Clark loved her two dogs: Bella, a Shih Tzu and Pepper, a Maltese. For two years – when needed – she would board her dogs at Rafa’s Paw House on Winter Wren Way in Pflugerville.
“We really didn’t have any issues,” Clark said. “We wouldn’t have continued using them if we did have issues.”
On the day before Thanksgiving 2024, Clark received a text from the dog sitters, saying Pepper ran out the front door and they were searching for her.
It was not until Clark arrived at their home when she says the pet sitter made a troubling revelation.
“That’s when he says, ‘We found Pepper, and he paused. And we’re looking like … and he’s like ‘She’s in this bag.’,” Clark recalled. “And I just like broke down crying. No kind of accountability, no kind of apology. No, only thing he said was, ‘I tried to tell you, I tried to tell you.'”
Clark says she did not take the bag home that day and instead hired a pet crematory service to pick up Pepper’s body. Clark then reported the incident to the Travis County Sheriff’s Office.
According to an incident report, a deputy asked the dog sitters if they were running a kennel or had licenses. One of the pet sitters advised that they had been watching some dogs for the Thanksgiving holiday.
The male sitter said they live in a neighborhood with a homeowner’s association that does not allow businesses to be run out of their homes.
The report also noted: “The Homeowners Association has acted and informed the family that if they continue operating their dog-sitting business in violation of neighborhood rules, they could lose their house.”
Malu Guimaraes says she worked at Rafa’s Paw House from May to July 2024. KVUE spoke with her and her mother Paula.
Guimaraes said the two dogs died after being left in a hot garage without proper food or water. An incident report from July includes allegations matching her story.
Guimaraes says what she experienced still haunts her.
“I can’t see any dog or any animal sleep that my heart just … I start to cry,” Malu said.
KVUE reviewed call logs from the Travis County Sheriff’s Office regarding complaints about Rafa’s Paw House from January 2022 to December 2024.
There were at least three incidents of callers alleging their dogs had died. Two of the incidents were reported in July 2024.
KVUE made multiple attempts to call and email Rafa’s Paw House over the last few months. In January, KVUE got a hold of one of the sitters on the phone, who then said the business had closed. He also said KVUE would have to speak to his lawyer, but did not provide a phone number for an attorney and proceeded to disconnect the call.
In a text message Thursday, the other pet sitter wrote in part: “Any pet’s untimely death is a tragedy for a family. And our thoughts and prayers go out for any family that has ever lost a pet.”
As Clark contemplates her next moves without her precious Pepper, what she now wants is justice.
“Pepper didn’t deserve to die the way she did. And I feel like I failed,” Clark said.
KVUE also reached out to the HOA management company that presides over the area where Rafa’s was, but after several phone calls and emails, there was no response.
According to the reports, animal cruelty charges were not filed by the Travis County Sheriff’s Office, which is why KVUE is not naming the pet sitters.
The report also showed that Clark was advised to pursue the case in civil court, but she said she is not sure which route to take.