A young Australian couple holidaying in Bali have become the target of an online hate campaign after they were wrongly accused of leaving a stray dog to die after accidentally hitting it on their moped.
Charlie Torr and her boyfriend Jake Biggs were driving through Uluwatu, on the island’s south coast, when a dog named Neo crossed the road and was hit.
A local resident rushed to the scene and took a photo of the couple after checking on the dog, which appeared to be unharmed.
The image spread across social media, along with claims the couple had left the dog for dead and refused to pay vet bills upon returning to Australia.
The pair have now backtracked on the claims, describing them as ‘false and baseless’.
An Australian influencer and her pet-loving boyfriend, Charlie Torr (right) and Jack Biggs (left), have denied claims they fled after hitting a dog with a moped while on holiday in Bali
Mr Biggs, who works at a dog boarding and training company, told Daily Mail Australia the couple felt “very unsafe in the situation”, with a pack of dogs and angry locals surrounding their moped.
“We were already driving cautiously due to road conditions and the prevalence of stray dogs, but we stopped when a dog charged towards us in an attempt to escape the other dogs,” he said.
‘Despite our best efforts to avoid contact, the dog ran towards us and bounced slightly against the front of the scooter.
‘We saw the dog immediately jump up and continue running away from a larger dog that was chasing it up the stairs. Other than attempting to escape from the larger dog, the dog appeared perfectly fine and unharmed.”
He said they only drove about 100 meters further to escape the gang of angry strays before returning to find the local man and the dog they had hit were not at the scene.
The dog was taken to a nearby vet and examined for injuries.
After social media posts identified the couple and revealed the dog was still in the care of a vet, Mr Biggs contacted the clinic to pay the bills.
“The vet confirmed shortly afterwards that the dog is in good condition and has been playing with other dogs at the vet,” he said.
The couple were photographed – shortly after checking the dog was uninjured – by an angry local who falsely accused them of trying to flee the scene.
The dog (photo) was taken to a veterinary clinic and was found not to have been injured, but had health problems related to its wandering behavior. The couple has paid all vet bills
A series of X-rays and tests confirmed that the dog had suffered no injuries as a result of the collision, but was “anemic and dirty from being abandoned by its owners.”
Calls, accounts and transactions obtained by Daily Mail Australia confirmed the couple is funding the dog’s care.
Mr Biggs said allegations that they had not tried to care for the dog were “not consistent with our values as committed animal lovers”.
“It has led to relentless bullying and disturbing threats against us. There is no excuse for this,” he said.
The messages led to Ms Torr, an actor and influencer, deactivating her TikTok and Instagram accounts after receiving a number of hateful messages.