A house sitter is facing serious allegations after reportedly stealing a U.S. airman’s cherished dog and vehicle while the airman was stationed overseas. The incident culminated in the tragic discovery of the dog, a husky named Maverick, deceased in the car, which was found abandoned at an upscale apartment complex.
The suspect, 28-year-old Andrew Jansen, was apprehended in Miami-Dade County over the weekend. He is accused of taking the 11-year-old husky along with Andrew Beckham’s car and leaving the dog stranded over 2,100 miles away in Aurora, Colorado, according to Beckham’s statements to The Post.
“I wish that his family had come forward with his whereabouts earlier, which might have given me the chance to save Maverick,” Beckham expressed. “I’m relieved he has been taken into custody and can’t harm anyone else.”
Beckham had employed Jansen from Palmetto Bay, Florida, through the TrustedHouseSitters service—a platform that connects pet owners with potential sitters. Jansen was entrusted with the care of Beckham’s home and Maverick while Beckham was deployed overseas in early April.
During his stay at Beckham’s Aurora residence, Jansen was captured on doorbell video footage one night, taking Maverick outside and placing him in Beckham’s Subaru Forester before driving away without any prior notification.
The dog sitter was captured on doorbell footage one night taking Maverick outside and into Beckham’s Subaru Forester before driving off without notice.
Beckham lost contact with the alleged dognapper and reported the two missing to police.
Beckham raced back home to Colorado on April 22 to join the emergency search for his dog, but came up empty-handed until May 2.
Maverick was found dead inside Beckham’s missing vehicle, which police discovered abandoned in the private gated garage of a luxury apartment complex in Denver, a month after it was reported stolen.
Police are investigating how and when the car showed up at the private garage and when Jansen skipped town.
“He was trapped in the car for a long time,” Beckham told CBS Miami on Saturday. “He had a lot of blood on his face. They’re still trying to figure out why and what happened.”
Photos obtained by The Post show the memorial Beckham created at home for Maverick, including tufts of the beloved dog’s hair, impressions of his paws, a print of Maverick’s nose and a mural showing the smiling husky.
“I got to see Maverick. But it’s really hard to talk about,” Beckham said.
After the heartbreaking discovery earlier this month, Beckham hadn’t received any updates on the investigation until a local Florida reporter tipped him off that Jansen had been arrested.
“I have not been contacted by any law enforcement or detectives regarding his capture,” he said.
Aurora police issued an arrest warrant for Jansen on felony motor vehicle theft and general theft charges, according to CBS Miami.
Jansen was arrested at Jackson South Hospital attempting to visit his father after he allegedly interfered with a medical emergency call early Saturday morning, according to the outlet.
He is being held in Miami-Dade on a fugitive out-of-state warrant and is expected to be extradited to Colorado, according to jail records, viewed by The Post.
Beckham warned pet owners to be vigilant when finding dog sitters, urging them to do proper research into the individuals they find online.
“If [Jansen] were house-sitting again, I think people need to know. If [Jansen is] using other agencies, people need to know. Because he made Maverick suffer a lot,” he told the outlet.
“We are deeply concerned about the situation and are in direct contact with the pet owner Andrew, and are actively cooperating with local authorities as they work to resolve the matter as quickly as possible,” a spokesperson for TrustedHousesitters told The Post in April.
