A young Australian couple holidaying in Bali has been the subject of an online hate campaign after being wrongly accused of leaving a stray dog to die after accidentally hitting it with their moped.
Charlie Torr and her boyfriend Jake Biggs were walking in Uluwatu, on the island’s south coast, when a dog named Neo ran across the road and was knocked down.
A local rushed to the scene and took a photo of the couple after they checked on the dog, which appeared to be unharmed.
The image spread across social media, along with claims that the couple had left the dog for dead and refused to pay the vet bills upon returning to Australia.
The couple have now responded to 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 fleeing after hitting a dog with a moped while on holiday in Bali.
Biggs, who works at a daycare and dog training business, 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 the road conditions and the prevalence of stray dogs, we stopped when a dog ran towards us trying to escape the other dogs,” he said.
‘Despite our efforts to avoid contact, the dog ran in our direction, bouncing slightly on the front of the scooter.
‘We observed the dog immediately jump up and continue to flee from a larger dog that was chasing him down some stairs. Other than trying to escape from the larger dog, the dog seemed completely fine and unharmed.
He said they had only driven about 100 meters down the road to escape the pack of angry stray dogs before returning to find the local man and the dog they ran over were not at the scene.
The dog was taken to a nearby veterinarian and examined for injuries.
After social media posts identified the couple and revealed the dog was still under the care of a veterinarian, Biggs approached the clinic to pay the bills.
“The vet confirmed shortly after that the dog is in excellent condition and has been playing with other dogs at the vet,” he said.
The couple were photographed, shortly after checking that the dog was unharmed, by an angry local who falsely accused them of trying to flee the scene.
The dog (pictured) was taken to a veterinary clinic and was found to be uninjured but had health issues related to being stray. The couple has paid all the vet bills.
A series of x-rays and examinations confirmed that the dog had not suffered any injuries due to the collision, however, it was “anemic and dirty as it had been abandoned by its owners.”
Conversations, invoices and transactions seen by Daily Mail Australia confirmed the couple had been funding the dog’s care.
Biggs said allegations that they had made no attempt to care for the dog “do not align with our values as devoted animal lovers.”
‘This has led to relentless intimidation and disturbing threats against us. There is no excuse for this,’ she stated.
The posts led Ms Torr, an actress and influencer, to deactivate her TikTok and Instagram accounts after receiving a series of hate messages.