A dog owner's trust was shattered after a tragic incident involving her beloved pet and a hired sitter. 

Nicole Crowther is grappling with the loss of her Chihuahua, Pearl, after leaving her in the care of a sitter she found through a popular dog-sitting app. 

Nicole adopted Pearl when she was tiny enough to fit in her hand. "She was my best friend," said Crowther.

Nicole and her mom, Karen Crowther, took a family trip to Key West last weekend, leaving Pearl and their other dog, Enzo, with the sitter. The family informed the sitter to not have any other people or pets over. 

Less than 24 hours later, they received devastating news that Pearl had died. The sitter, who was supposed to stay at Karen's home, informed them she had been in the ER after Pearl bit her, and another dog she was watching intervened, causing chaos. Karen confusingly asked, "You had another dog at the house? Is Pearl okay?"

Nicole's wife rushed home and found Pearl lifeless on the patio. The Lee County Sheriff's Office reported finding the sitter, Enzo, another dog, and Pearl in the backyard, dead.

The Sheriff's Office says no criminal charges will be filed, and it is considered a civil matter between the sitter, owner, and dog-sitting app. Nicole and Karen are in contact with the app, which offered to pay for Pearl's cremation, but cannot disclose the investigation's outcome and what will happen with the sitter.

The two say they have reached out to the sitter several times after the news, to which she has yet to respond.