Owner Accuses Lynn Dogsitter Of Leaving Dog Laying In Its Own Waste

QUINCY (CBS) -- A Lynn dogsitter has been ordered to go before a judge, and will be charged with animal cruelty and larceny.

Kathryn Barker, 34, left Quincy District Court Thursday and said, "It's all false. I've worked with animals for 20 years and it just breaks my heart, these injuries were from a previous kennel that they were at."

In June, firefighter Joe Hingston went on a website called "Dog Vaca" and hired Barker to watch his dog, Sully, when he went on vacation.

Five days into the vacation, Hingston's neighbors called to say the dogsitter, who was supposed to be there 24-7, was nowhere to be found.

"My boy needed some help, she wasn't there to give it, witnesses prove that she wasn't at the house," Hingston said.

When Hingston returned home, he found Sully sleeping in his own waste. And the 14-year-old dog could barely walk. He found nearly $10,000 missing from his home.

But Barker maintains her innocence. "The dog is struggling to get up," she said. "Tears come to my eyes when I think about it. It's just so sad."

Despite Barker's repeated claims of innocence, the clerk magistrate thought differently. He is sending the case to a judge where Barker will likely be charged with animal cruelty and larceny.