HENDERSON (KTNV) — On January 17, a small team supporting dog owner Christopher Melendez went out into the desert, asking unthinkable questions that brought devastating answers about the fate of his family pet, a Shih Tzu named Teddy.
Mike Leishman and Michele Hood were part of that support team. Mike asked the questions. Michele recorded video of it on her cell phone.
The truth about Teddy did not come easily from dog sitters Jessica Ramos and her husband, Ivan Lezama Velazquez, who had multiple dogs in their care on the day Teddy died.
"You look in the camera and you need to tell them what you did with this dog, what happened, and where you buried it," Leishman said.
"We was (sic) babysitting this dog and it got in a fight with another dog and it died," said Lezama Velazquez.
"They had originally said that the dogs were lost, some of them went to a park, one came back, and Teddy never did," Hood said. She is part of Las Vegas Doggie Task Force, a group of volunteers who track and rescue lost dogs. She's also a sport dog trainer and licensed, insured pet sitter.
Hood says after a series of lies and hours spent searching for Teddy, she went with Melendez to confront the dog sitters at their home, where she made an audio recording of the confrontation:
Jessica Ramos: "He passed away."
Michele Hood: "What happened?"
Ramos: "He got in a fight with one of the smaller dogs — same size as him."
Hood: "Well, hold on, back up — I thought he was missing."
Ramos: "No, he wasn't missing."
Hood: "So, you lied about that?"
Ramos: "Yes, I did. I'm so sorry."
"Through a bit of questioning, she finally admitted that she didn't really lose our dog," Melendez said, "that in her care, she was also taking care of a few other dogs, and that my dog, Teddy, had gotten into a fight with one of the other dogs."
On the audio recording, Ramos continued: "And I guess the dog attacked him too much and that's why he was dead."
Hood: "Why didn't you take him to a vet?"
Ramos: "Because he was already dead."
Hood: "What kind of injuries were on the dog?"
Ramos: "Bite holes."
They demanded to know what the sitters did with Teddy's body.
Lezama Velazquez led them to an area in the desert, which Leishman describes as "on the way out to the lake on the side of a berm" on the south shoulder of state Route 147, near mile 12.
We first met Mike and Jodi Leishman during a 13 investigation in November.
"That is the nightmare that you hope never happens," said Mike, describing a "very similar scenario" to the Melendez family's experience.
The Leishmans hired pet sitter Angelica Strickland to care for their dog, Louie, when they went on a family vacation.
While Melendez found Teddy's sitter on Instagram, the Leishmans found theirs on the Rover app.
Less than a day into their vacation, Jodi says, "I got a text message that said Rover is involved, that there had been a domestic fight at the house, and that my dog was missing."
And he's never been found.
But because of Louie, the Leishmans are now entrenched in the Lost Dogs of Las Vegas community. So far, they've located 15 dogs that were either reunited with their owners or rescued while roaming the desert.
And Mike was able to help Melendez get real answers.
On the cell phone video from the desert, Mike says to Lezama Velazquez: "They got in a fight. This dog was obviously injured very badly. So, then what did you do? Tell us what you did after you found the dog."
"It passed away and I freaked out. I didn't know what to do. And I ended up bringing him over here," Velazquez replies.
After about two hours of searching, they found Teddy's body.
"I won't deny that I fell to my knees and cried," Hood said.
She called the Bureau of Land Management's law enforcement division because the area where Teddy was dumped is federal land.
Rangers responded, temporarily detaining Lezama Velazquez while searching him to make sure he wasn't a threat.
He gave the BLM a different story about Teddy's condition from what his wife had earlier told Melendez, Hood and Leishman at the couple's home: Ramos claimed Teddy had died at the house.
The BLM law enforcement officer who filed the incident report wrote:
"He (Lezama Velazquez) told me to the effect of when they discovered that the dog was injured, he put it in the car to take it to the vet but that it died on the way. LEZAMA VELAZQUEZ told me to the effect of he panicked when the dog died and brought it out to public lands to dispose of it by burying it in the wash near mile 12 on SR 147. LEZAMA VELAZQUEZ told me that his wife’s name was Jessica RAMOS, and that RAMOS typically posts ads online for dog sitting services. LEZAMA VELAZQUEZ told me that they run the dog sitting business out of their residence."
Lezama Velazquez was not arrested but did receive two citations for illegal dumping and removing or destroying personal property.
As 13 investigates has reported, dogs are considered property in the state of Nevada.
Now, Melendez is focused on additional accountability and finding justice for Teddy.
He filed a report with Henderson Police along with screenshots from Ramos' business on social media. On Jan. 19, Henderson Business Licensing issued a stop work order because, in Henderson, you can't run an animal business out of your home.
The Henderson City Attorney's office is currently reviewing three potential criminal misdemeanor charges submitted by Henderson Animal Control, including animal establishment violations, exceeding the number of animals permitted, and failure to provide adequate food, water or veterinarian care.
Animal advocates hope that after Louie — and after Teddy — all local government jurisdictions will move to better protect animals with specialized licensure, training and oversight for pet-related services.
"We've got to stop!" exclaimed Hood. "How many more times does this have to happen?!"
13 Investigates spoke to Ramos and Lezama Velazquez on the phone and asked for interviews.
Ramos responded, "I can't say anything."
Lezama Velazquez declined comment as well, but did say, "I know what I did was wrong."
We checked Facebook and found Ramos has either hidden or deleted her page. On Instagram, she posted that "jessysdoggies boarding and training is now closed for good."
The Las Vegas City Council recently failed to pass an ordinance that would have imposed stricter regulations and requirements on pet service businesses, but Councilwoman Victoria Seaman is drafting a new ordinance for consideration.
Clark County has no specific requirements for pet sitters and no plans to add any to the current county code.
