For venture capitalists looking for the next gig economy success story, the dog-walking app Wag seems like a good bet. After all, Americans spend a lot of money on their pets—an estimated $70 billion last year alone—and the three-year-old startup is growing fast and looking to raise at least $100 million to fund its expansion.
Several investors were getting ready to ante up last month, according to three people familiar with the situation, when social media began to surface outrage about Buddy, a Beagle-Labrador mix who went missing while under the care of a Wag contractor. Buddy’s owner, a Long Island retired nurse named MaryEllen Humphrey, accused the company of misrepresenting its rescue efforts and trying to buy her silence with $2,500 and by offering to pay for a planned trip to Disney World when a local news station inquired about the missing pup.
