KNOXVILLE, Tenn — A Canadian woman who was accused by her former clients of neglecting or abusing several dogs in Canada has offered to care for dogs here in Knoxville.
Several people shared graphic posts online and started looking into a woman named Jessica Kippen. As of Monday afternoon, Kippen has not been charged with any crimes in Canada or Knox County.
Two Canadian women said at least two dogs died in her care. There's an open investigation into her in Ontario, Canada, led by the Provincial Animal Welfare Services. While authorities conducted their investigation, she moved to Knoxville and a man she now lives with made posts on Rover, a dog-care app.
The Canadian investigations into her date back to 2021, when Michelle Schindel left her dog, Jetta, in Kippen's care. She said Jetta had been diagnosed with a brain tumor, but was still expected to live for a few years as long as she took her prescribed medication.
“She said all the right things,” said Schindel. “She takes them for walks. They have a lot of backyard space to play.”
But when the family went to pick their dog up, Schindel said her dog was not the same loving and charismatic girl they dropped off.
“She basically escalated what was coming. Not giving her meds and starving her, and dehydrating her, and leaving us with the most anxious, and terrified dog," she said.
Michelle said when they brought her home, she drank two bowls of water, stood in the corner, and shook. She said Jetta’s medicine bottles were returned chewed up, and missing dozens of pills.
Four months later, they had to put Jetta down. Jetta's not the only dog pet owners said may have suffered at the hands of Kippen.
Carla Ongaro, also from Ontario, said one day she picked up her two dogs from Kippen'shouse and one of them had to be rushed to the vet after spending the week at Kippen’s.
“I said to her, ‘What did you do to my dog?'" said Ongaro. “She said, ‘Nothing.’ I said to her, ‘What did you do to my dog?’ And she said, ‘I think he just overdid it.’”
Stormy’s veterinary records and lab results show he tested positive for Streptococcus and E-Coli.
“They were horrified when I brought him in, just at a first glance," he said. “Stormy was covered in sores, from his eyes, all over his face, in his mouth.”
It took Stormy several days to recover.
Cassandra Almeida sent her two dogs to be cared for by Kippen in June. It was the last time she saw her rescue dog, Sammy, alive.
“She said that Sammy wasn’t right,” said Almeida. “So I called her and said, ‘What do you mean?’ She said, ‘Sammy is having a really hard time breathing. About 15 minutes after I started driving, she called and said Sammy had stopped breathing.”
Almeida's boyfriend picked Sammy’s body up from Jessica’s.
“He shared that she was already in rigor mortis at that point," she said. “Something didn’t sit right. Something told me to dig deeper.”
Jenuen Monroe dropped her dogs off at Kippen's home in Canada on June 15, 2024. One was named Cartello. She said Kippen called her early the next morning and said Cartello had died. Monroe said she went inside Kippen's home to pick up his body.
“What I saw was nothing I could have imagined,” said Monroe. “The condition of the house is super dirty ... I remember the floor being soaking wet and there were a ton of bleach bottles everywhere.”
Monroe said there was no air conditioning or fan where her dogs were kept. She also said Kippemn eventually took her to where she was keeping Cartello’s body.
“When she finally removes everything, she opens up the freezer, and there is my dog in her freezer — frozen,” said Monroe.
The two deaths sparked outrage and protests in Ontario. A former employee who said she worked for Kippen sent 10News a complaint letter along with photos she sent to Provincial Animal Welfare Services.
The letter detailed the alleged abuse and neglect dogs faced while staying with Kippen. PAWS confirmed to 10News that Jessica Kippen is under investigation.
The Hamilton Police Department in Canada confirmed PAWS’ investigation into the alleged animal abuse. The city also said Kippen received several administrative penalties between 2021 to 2023. The penalties ranged from failing to keep animals' areas clean and sanitary, and "operating without a license.”
“There are no laws about this," said Almeida. “Animals are viewed as property. They aren’t associated at living creatures that can be associated with criminal charges in this sense.”
Some people have been hanging up signs across the street from a Knoxville house, which Kippen's boyfriend is believed to own. Her supposed boyfriend's father told the Knoxville Police Department said someone put up signs that said his son and Kippen were "dog killers," according to a police report.
He also said Kippen was under investigation in Canada for alleged animal abuse in the report.
WBIR spoke to a person who asked to be anonymous and said a woman named Jessica approached her in early August about dropping her dogs off to be cared for at the home her boyfriend owns. The person also said the woman also gave her a business card for “Howler Homestead” with a phone number.
The business address was the same as the home where several believe Kippen's boyfriend lives, according to online searches. An account on Rover also appeared to originate in the same location as that home.
Reviews on that account mention a woman named “Jess” or Jessica. That account has since been deleted.
10News asked Rover if any accounts associated with Jessica Kippen and her boyfriend have been disabled or banned.
"When we learned these individuals intentionally circumvented our review processes, we quickly removed their profiles and are taking additional steps to ensure they are unable to rejoin our community," a spokesperson said.
10News used the phone number on the “Howler Homestead” business card and online, and called Kippen to ask questions. She texted back saying she didn’t “want her words twisted.” 10News told her it wanted to give her the chance to respond to the allegations being made against her, and she never responded.
The Canadian TV station CHCH reported that Hamilton police laid an assault charge on one woman after Kippen was confronted by a group outside of her home. Two people were charged with breaking and entering at the property.