The dangerous lies of Stuart Millar and Nereus Retreats.
After negligently killing a beloved family dog in June of 2024, Stuart Millar doubles down on the incident, lying on record and admitting guilt to Newsweek.
This is a followup on our original story which you can read here: "How Nereus Retreats in Costa Rica Killed My Dog"
Despite never apologizing for his role in the killing of Gingko back in June of 2024, Stuart Millar of Nereus Retreats has now spoken publicly with Newsweek.
"We feel it would be an outsize reaction [to do more] given that Girli's behavior has never been a concern before this incident" - Stuart Millar
This is a lie. Today, for the first time, we are releasing audio of Stuart’s own wife/co-owner Jen Millar discussing how their dog Girli cannot be trusted: “to be honest, we cannot trust Girli. I can’t make any guarantees or trust with her. She actually got into it with a peccary, the wild pig, the other day… she’s a little wild”. This is directly in response to Elise inquiring if Girli was safe to be around our dogs if we stayed onsite for our planned visit. We invite you to listen and hear with your own ears.
In the audio above, Elise asks if we can stay on the property with our two dogs since our visit would be almost 6 weeks long. Jen Millar in her own voice responds that after “consult(ing) with Stuart, I’m afraid the dogs are a no, we definitely have a no pet policy, and to be honest we cannot trust Girli.”
Plain and simple fact that both Jen AND Stuart discussed how Girli could not be trusted. This conversation occurred on January 25th, 4 months prior to when they negligently allowed Girli to roam free, unsupervised, and attack and kill Gingko.
If someone lies about their dog’s dangerous behavior, can you really trust them to do business safely?
"We're at a loss to know how to proceed.” - Stuart Millar.
Here are some ideas, Stuart:
TAKE FULL AND COMPLETE ACCOUNTABILITY FOR WHAT HAS HAPPENED. FOR THE LOSS OF GINGKO’S LIFE AT YOUR NEGLIGENCE, FOR THE TRAUMA WE’VE ENDURED AND FOR YOUR ROLE IN IT ALL.
Start by issuing a real public apology, Stuart. You never once have said “I’m sorry.” You’ve never once expressed genuine remorse, care or condolences to us, the victims of your negligence. You only care about your reputation, not the harm you’ve caused to us or the death of Gingko.
Pay us the full amount of what you promised to us in writing when this incident occurred. Your wife, Jen, promised to cover all of our expenses for vet, AirBnB and car. Then, after three weeks of Gingko fighting for her life she suddenly went back on that promise without cause. We were suddenly offered the random sum “cap” of $4,000. You pulled the rug out from under us. You claim now (months later) that it is an “outsize” reaction to do more. Why, then, did you make a promise just to break it? We have documented that entire conversation in writing in Jen’s own words. She broke written contract to us to cover the agreed upon costs. How is it an “outsize” reaction to follow through on a written promise (contract) that you made? How is it an “outsize” reaction to take care of a “friend” during their time of need, in a situation that was your fault? You’re “at a loss,” yet the the ONE thing we asked from you, the ONLY thing you could do to somewhat alleviate our pain in the smallest way is an “outsize” reaction? The failure to follow through represents your lack of true compassion and care for the impact of your actions.
Be truthful about Girli’s past behavior. You’ve now lied in print. If she had no behavioral concerns then why did Jen herself state that she cannot be trusted in the above audio? Why did we book six weeks of an AirBnB instead of staying onsite like every other Nereus teacher? You know full well that Girli has attacked your staff member’s dog, Baki, badly enough that he needed veterinary care. This story was told to us by Jen and you and your family, and multiple guests at Nereus have heard it. Even the vet confirmed this incident to us during one of our many visits. You know full well that Jen attempted to go on a leashed walk with your neighbor and her small dog, Natty, and even leashed Girli immediately lunged at Natty and tried to attack her. Luckily the neighbor intervened and Natty was unharmed. Jen had to bring Girli home. This story was told to us by both Jen herself and the neighbor. Those are only TWO documented cases of Girli’s prior aggression, who knows how many others there are that you’re covering up. Even in this audio, Girli had an incident with a peccary. Are wild animals’ lives not important as well? You claim to be eco friendly, yet she attacks wild animals in the jungle. You claim to love your family pet, yet you allow her to roam without protection even after she is injured in this incident? Just because she is loving to humans and certain dogs, and popular with guests, does not negate these truths. You’re a liar and an irresponsible dog owner and you are NEGLIGENT.
In this article, Stuart states that Girli is a “sweet and loving family pet,” as if this somehow justifies their denial and refusal to take full responsibility. To that we say, do you know who else was a sweet and loving family pet? A a sweet and loving family pet who never, ever hurt another living creature? A sweet and loving family pet who simply existed in public and for that she paid the ultimate price. Gingko. She is gone, and it’s your fault no matter how you try to spin it.
JUSTICE FOR GINGKO.