Queens sitter is in the doghouse
Pup owners point to dead, missing
She’s a dog’s worst friend. At least five dogs have allegedly died, been injured or gone missing under the care of Marlene Cordova — a Queens woman who runs an unlicensed dog-sitting business out of her Bayside apartment — according to outraged pup owners.
“Marlene killed my puppy,” Coby Davidson commented in response to a Jan. 8 Facebook post on the Nassau County Lost & Found Pets page, which anonymously warned other dog owners against hiring Cordova as a dog-sitter.
According to text messages obtained by The Post between Davidson and Kelly Brach, a professional pet tracker, Cordova admitted to the dog owner that when leaving his home, she had left out a piece of watermelon, which his pooch ate, causing the canine to fatally choke.
“I had no idea anyone else had a similar experience,” Davidson wrote on Facebook. “I can’t give all the details here but we did get a settlement from her insurance company which obviously is never enough to replace him in our hearts.”
Baneet Pabla’s world was turned upside-down — and his Australian vacation cut short — after Cordova informed him Dec. 28 that his beloved, 4-year-old Australian shepherd, Ozi, was missing.
After catching the earliest flight home, Pabla, 35, went directly to Cordova’s 217th Street home where he had left Ozi for her to watch on countless occasions since he’d first found Cordova’s dog-sitting profile on Rover, a pet-care services app, in 2019.
At first, Cordova told Pabla that Ozi had escaped her home — potentially through a door she’d left open — while she wasn’t home, and that she’d thoroughly searched the area for him, called nearby vets and animal shelters, and alerted neighbors to his disappearance.
But Pabla said he doubted her version of events after inquiring about Ozi at nearby businesses and residences, “and nobody had any idea there was a dog missing.”
“We still have no idea what happened to Ozi and we have no idea where he is, even if he’s alive,” Pabla lamented.
A 12-year-old Patterdale terrier, Boozer, has never been found since he went missing from Cordova’s home in July 2021, according to the Bayside owner and social media posts.
Alex Abramov’s 12-yearold Russell terrier mix, Barkley, allegedly suffered three pelvic fractures from getting hit by a car after he escaped Cordova’s home in February 2022.
Shirit Cohen’s 7-monthold Shar-Pei, Gator, needed five stitches on his muzzle after he was allegedly attacked by another dog Cordova was also watching at her home in February 2022.
Cordova declined to comment. A spokesperson for Rover said Cordova was removed from the platform two years ago, but would not provide a reason.
The city Department of Health said it is “currently investigating” a complaint Cordova is illegally running a dog-boarding business in a residential premises.