Toronto dog walker accused of second pet death in hot car

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Anne Chirakal, her husband, Jeff Cochran, and their six-year-old twin girls are still reeling from the loss of Chilly, their beloved four-year-old Samoyed.

Chirakal told the Toronto Sun that on Monday afternoon, Cochran called their dog walker Scott Howley, of Fun Dog, to find out where Chilly was – and heard the phone drop.

“There was a commotion, he heard running, then all he heard was Scott saying, ‘He’s dead, he’s dead, he’s dead.’”

Chirakal recalled picking up the dog from Howley’s house where they were met only by Howley’s wife.

Chilly was wrapped up in a blanket on the porch, “his tongue was hanging out and his fur was soaked.”

“These are people we know, who know our family, who we trusted,” Chirakal said, adding she believes Chilly was in the car for up to three hours – while outside temperatures reached a high of 29.7 degrees.

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“Scott has still yet to give us an explanation, he has not faced us, only his wife has talked to us. To this day,” said Chirakal.

It’s not the first time a dog has allegedly died in Howley’s care. Reports have surfaced on social media about Teddy, a dog allegedly left in a car for several hours by Howley in 2018.

“My wife and I feel so bad for Chilly and his family,” Teddy’s owner, Clarke Struthers, told the Toronto Sun. “This is a horrific event and we are shocked that it happened again.”

He added: “We are sad another animal had to suffer under Scott’s care but are hopeful the authorities can intervene to stop this from happening again. Scott should not be allowed to handle an animal ever again.”

Howley did not respond to numerous requests from the Toronto Sun for an interview.

According to Chirakal, Howley told them about the incident with Teddy – which was never criminally investigated – in 2019 but he downplayed what had happened.

“We believed him. We really thought it was a terrible accident,” Chirakal said.

Toronto Police confirmed an officer is conducting an “active investigation” but refused to discuss details.

“Chilly was alive with us. He was dead with him,” she said. “We trusted him. My poor baby boy trusted him.”