Dog Sitter Burglarizes Home of San Clemente Man Battling Brain Cancer, Family Says

SAN CLEMENTE (CBSLA) – Authorities are investigating a dog sitter who last weekend was allegedly caught burglarizing the family home of a San Clemente man who is battling brain cancer.

Lori Coulson told CBS2 Wednesday that she hired the dog sitter to watch their miniature golden doodle Henry while she, her husband Michael and their daughters took a weekend trip, the first such getaway since Michael was diagnosed with stage four brain cancer last fall.

Coulson hired the sitter using the NextDoor app, noting that the woman had received good reviews on Care.com.

The trip ended early, however, with Michael forced to make a visit to the emergency room. Coulson and her daughters returned home to find that the sitter had rifled through their bedrooms, stealing everything from cash and gift cards to clothes, prescription painkillers and makeup.

"The jeans were like scattered in here, and the black jeans were gone, and she sent a picture to my mom, wearing those same jeans," Lori's daughter Lindsay said.

When the family tried to confront the young woman, she ran away.

The Coulsons said the woman knew that Michael had brain cancer, but targeted them anyway.

"The fact that she knew what I was going through, and still decided to go forward with this, clearly she's got issues of her own, it's really disappointing what people will do," Michael Coulson said.

Lori told CBS2 that other neighbors have since come out and said they were also burglarized by the same dog sitter. The Orange County Sheriff's Department is investigating. CBS2 did not immediately identify the dog sitter in question because she has not been arrested or charged.

"I think that was the hardest thing, to hear my daughters crying, because they just felt very violated and kind of not even safe in their own house," Coulson said.