A wannabe social-media influencer already under fire for allegedly ripping off a Big Apple eatery is in trouble again after a beloved dog she was hired to care for died — and she delivered its rotting corpse to its owner in a suitcase.
Jiacheng the Husky was decomposing and showed signs of muscle atrophy at the end of his 10-day stay with online Manhattan fame-seeker Fahmida Sultana, according to a Cornell autopsy report reviewed by The Post. The influencer has claimed the 7-year-old dog had suddenly died earlier that day.
Junyi Li, who goes by the nickname “Eleven,” blames her dog’s death on the wannabe influencer who was caring for him. Kevin C Downs forThe New York Post
The dog’s Brooklyn owner, Juny “Eleven” Li, blames the influencer for her pet’s death, although Sultana denies that it was her fault.
The canine controversy exploded on social media this week, igniting thousands of angry animal lovers who are now calling for Sultana’s arrest — and came at a time when the fledgling social-media influencer was already catching heat for a far less sinister blunder.
Sultana has not had charges filed against her in either case.
Jiancheng, a ka JC, celebrated his 7th birthday shortly before his death. Instagram/@jiacheng0303
She first drew the ire of the Internet by purportedly inhaling $200 worth of free food and drink during a September visit to Long Island City Vietnamese restaurant Chef Papa in exchange for a “lifestyle and hospitality video” she failed to produce on time — until the owner made his own clip calling her out and she returned fire by posting a video disparaging the family joint.
In a statement on social media, Sultana copped to the food fight but said “miscommunication and lack of urgency … led to an unfilled collaboration.”
In terms of the dead dog, she vehemently denied to The Post she did anything to hurt JC.
“I would never harm any animal,” she wrote on Instagram, saying she couldn’t go into detail over an expected forthcoming civil suit from Li.
Wannabe influencer Fahmida Sultana was hired to watch JC for 10 days while Li visited family in China. Instagram/medesoo0
“I am deeply sorry this family is going through this loss, and I am also sorry for the distress that people who have seen the video and posts online have felt,” Sultana added.
Her alleged unreliability was not known in March when Li hired her for $360 to care for her beloved pup Jiacheng, or JC, as she took a 10-day trip to visit family in China.
The pair connected on the pet-sitting app Rover but agreed to make the transaction offline to cut out fees.
All appeared to go well after Li dropped JC off March 19 at the Hell’s Kitchen apartment Sultana shared with her boyfriend. But things quickly went south.
Sultana all but stopped answering Li’s check-in messages, which grew rapidly more concerned as several days passed, Li said.
After three days, Sultana finally shared blurry pictures of JC, including some showing him dirty and noticeably skinnier — so much so that Li begged Sultana to allow a friend to stop by and check in on her beloved pet, Li said.
Sultana allegedly ignored the request, instead emphasizing that JC was happy and energetic, prompting Li to send a heartfelt text thanking Sultana for “taking such good care of Jiacheng.”
Li saved a tuft of JC’s fur after he died. Kevin C Downs forThe New York Post
Just 12 hours later — the morning that Li was meant to pick up her beloved pet — Sultana broke the news that JC was dead, Li said.
“I was yelling on the plane, ‘This is impossible!’ I just couldn’t stop crying — I can’t believe this happened — everyone was looking at me,” Li said.
Sultana and her boyfriend ended up stuffing the dog’s body in a plastic bag and storing it in suitcase luggage that they hauled by taxi more than 2 miles away to a vet in Chelsea, with Sultana telling The Post it was only because the clinic around the corner from her home was too busy to help.
“He means the whole world to me,” Li said of her late pooch. Kevin C Downs forThe New York Post
Li’s boyfriend, who was also out of town until that disastrous day, met them outside the office and took a video of the couple dragging the wheeled bag down the street.
Sultana told The Post, “[JC’s] owners were well aware of how he was transported because I informed him before transporting JCs actual body.
“I was in disbelief, shock, and confusion on how to transport him. It was not my intent to disrespect JC at all,” she said.
“I stated that I found JC unresponsive the next morning. That means he could have passed at any time between when I went to sleep and when I discovered him. Additionally, the owner did not reach the body for several hours due to her flight, which further explains the state of JCs body. No, I am not lying about when he was found unresponsive,” Sultana said.
Li has JC’s ashes in a Husky-shaped urn in her Brooklyn home. Kevin C Downs forThe New York Post
Sultana and her boyfriend left without entering the vet, and Li’s beau, who doesn’t want to be named, carried the unopened luggage inside.
“There were about three, four dogs in the vet already, and as soon as I walked in, they started [whimpering] because they could feel [that JC was dead]. Even though I didn’t open the suitcase yet, they could feel it,” Li’s boyfriend recalled, saying that a rotten stench exuded from the bag.
“They had to light a couple candles because of the odor,” he said of the office. “The nurse was the one that told us this first — She’s like, ‘They say your dog died this morning? There’s no way. There’s no way, how his body is conditioned.’ “
Li finally arrived at the vet and cried over JC’s body, according to a heartbreaking video circulating online.
Sultana claimed innocence on JC’s death in a statement on social media after thousands of trolls flooded her account. Instagram/medesoo0
The “traumatized” pet owner ordered a necropsy to gain some insight into her dog’s death. The report said its results were inconclusive because of the “degree of autolysis” — the first stage of decomposition.
The dog was suffering from muscle wasting, but the report said it couldn’t prove whether it was chronic or brought on by outside factors. JC did not appear to be poisoned, the preliminary report shows. The report excluded starvation as the source of the atrophy.
Without concrete evidence for JC’s death, Li said she has had little recourse to try to press charges but plans to bring a civil suit against Sultana.
“He means the whole world to me … He was with me all the time,” Li said of JC, pointing to a customized pillow of hers with the pup’s face on it.
“I used to have a crate here for JC. For the first two months [after his death], I would carry this pillow and stay in the cage and just cry,” she said.
JC’s body showed signs of decomposition and muscle atrophy, a necropsy shows. Instagram/jiacheng0303
Li noted that JC was missing his red collar when he was dumped at the Chelsea vet’s office. She said that when she asked for it back, Sultana said she didn’t have it.
“I did not remove his collar and had no reason to,” told The Post. “I thoroughly cleaned and searched my home and informed the owner that I did not have it. There is absolutely no advantage in my either removing or keeping his collar.”
Li said she has struggled for months to serve Sultana with court papers.
The wannabe influencer dog sitter’s doorman barred Li’s boyfriend from walking up to the unit, and family members at another listed address for Sultana refused to open the door when cops arrived, the pair said.
But thanks to Chef Papa’s online outrage over Sultana’s visit, a battle made viral by influencer Goob, Li was finally able to get traction — and plenty of attention — on her horrifying dog case.
Sultana’s Rover account has since been deactivated, the pet-sitting app confirmed, telling The Post it had conducted an investigation but had little information because the stay was not booked on the platform.
“Our hearts go out to Ms. Li as she mourns this devastating loss. We understand how distressing and painful Jiacheng’s passing must be, as many of us at Rover are pet parents ourselves,” a rep said.