For the very first time, I want to share publicly something I’ve kept mostly private for years. I have been relentlessly stalked, harassed, and defamed by a very disturbed individual who has made it her mission to try and tear me down. Until now, I’ve chosen to stay silent, focusing instead on my dream and the community I love. But after years of enduring this in silence, I feel it’s time to finally tell my story.
How I met my stalker
In the fall of 2015, I was working for Old Town Animal Hospital when I came across a post from Carey Smith about wanting to open a pet bakery in Old Katy. I reached out to her to see if she might also be interested in offering grooming services. My current place of employment had recently been bought out by a large corporation, and the changes there left me feeling ready for something new.
Carey and I met in November at La Madeleine to discuss the opportunity. Over dinner, I told her that while I hoped to own my own shop one day, my children were still very young and it wasn’t the right time for me to take on that responsibility. I explained that I thought working with her would be a great learning experience—an opportunity to see firsthand how someone builds a business from the ground up in my industry. Carey shared that this venture was something she had dreamed of for years. She had been a stay-at-home mom, and with her youngest now in high school, she wanted this to be her new passion. She also confided that her husband Lamont, who worked for BP, might soon be laid off. The business, she explained, was not only her dream but also a way to help keep their family in the U.S. if his job fell through.
Part of my employment agreement was signing a document confirming that I was an American citizen and would be employed full-time at their business. I was never a partner, only an employee. From there, we committed to moving forward. I helped the Smiths find a location, set up the grooming salon, choose equipment, establish pricing, and prepare the business for launch. As opening day neared, I gave my previous employer a two-month notice.
When true colors start to show, the rainbow disappears—
beauty replaced with honesty, and illusions fade into truth
We opened Katy Critters in March 2016, and in the beginning, everything seemed wonderful. Carey was warm and kind. I was working hard, earning good money, and many of my former Old Town clients followed me, since they had stopped offering grooming.
But only seven weeks in, things began to change. Carey became distant, almost cold. Lamont began appearing at the shop more often, and eventually they told me he had, in fact, been laid off. I also noticed Carey spent hours upon hours on the computer. At the time, I wondered what she could possibly be doing for so long. Now, I believe I know.
Around that same time, I discovered my notebook—containing all of my client information and pet grooming notes—was missing. When I asked Carey, she said she had borrowed it to transfer the information into their point-of-sales system. That explanation seemed reasonable, so I left it at that. But when I returned the following Monday, I walked into my grooming room to find a lengthy contract waiting for me. It was essentially a non-compete agreement, and it also stated that I was not to communicate with clients at all.
I had been clear with Carey from the very beginning that I would never sign a non-compete. I’d declined them in the past because I always knew I wanted to open my own shop one day. She knew this. That Monday morning, Lamont was also present, which was unusual. Calmly, I told them I did not agree to the new terms and that I would give them the day to reconsider. Right as I said this, one of my longtime clients walked in. I was visibly shaken. Lamont stood over me and said, “Well Lauren, what are we going to do?” Instead of answering him, I turned to my client and apologized, telling her I couldn’t groom her dog that day but would reach out later. After she left, I repeated to the Smiths that I wasn’t quitting but that I would not sign the agreement.
The Beginning of a Decade of Relentless Harassment
I left and tried to clear my head, but when I came home later that day, I was shocked to find a box on my doorstep with all of my grooming equipment and personal belongings. Inside was also a cease-and-desist letter stating I was not allowed to contact “their client list.” My notebook was never returned.
The whole ordeal left me shaken, but I needed to keep working. With nowhere else to go, I decided to build a small salon in my home, which took a few weeks. I never reached back out to the Smiths and focused on moving forward. But soon after, I began receiving disturbing private messages from fake accounts on Facebook and Instagram. These messages accused me of horrific things: animal abuse, child abuse, cheating on my husband and even as far as accusing me of pedophilia. They were vulgar, often beginning with phrases like “Hey cunt…” and filled with fabricated claims and threats and many of them sexual in nature. She would send me youtube music videos, voicemails of her laughing, links to reviews she created, pictures she stole from my personal pages…. Deep down, I knew these were coming from Carey, though they came from countless fake accounts, emails, and numbers.
At first, it was only messages to me. Then, she began contacting my friends and family, sending them similar threats. She stalked my social media, responding to anything I posted with harassment. I couldn’t even post a picture with an acquaintance without her stalking them and even going as far as sending me their criminal history or anything she could dig up on them. I confided in my husband, family, and close friends, and together we decided the best option was to ignore her, hoping she would eventually move on. But I began to realize this was a pattern—something she had likely done to others as well. It explained those endless hours on her computer.
By January 2017, Katy Critters had closed. Carey told the community she had a life-threatening brain tumor, and people rallied around her family with sympathy, even helping them sell their house before moving back to Canada. Yet during this time—when she was supposedly too ill to function—the harassment against me only escalated.
That May, I opened my first storefront in the very same location Katy Critters had been. The owners of the property reached out, knowing it was already set up for grooming. It was the right move, though I suspect it struck a nerve with Carey. My attitude was simple: I refused to let her hold me back in fear.
That’s when the attacks became public. Fake reviews began appearing online, accusing me of abusing and seriously injuring dogs. One morning, I woke up to find over 1,000 one-star reviews left on my business Facebook page.
Not long after, Hurricane Harvey flooded my storefront, and at the same time, I was going through a divorce. I made the difficult choice to return to working from home and put career growth on hold to focus on my children. But the harassment didn’t stop. Carey continued taunting me…laughing about my misfortunes and continues making disturbing claims online, creating fake pages impersonating my business, stalking and harassing my employees even distorting my personal photos to humiliate me. She has sent me hundreds of emails and messages on social media threatening me. She targeted my friends, people I dated, and anyone connected to me.
This has now gone on for over nine years. Despite never once being accused or investigated for animal abuse, I’ve endured relentless stalking and defamation. She has created websites, multiple fake accounts, and spread vile lies about me. Since opening my new location in October 2024, the harassment has only intensified.
I refuse to be a prisoner of fear. My stalker does not get to control my life.
I’ve never fought back publicly, because I refuse to “poke the bear” or give her the reaction she’s hoping for. After all these years, I rarely even read her emails anymore. They’re pointless—just filled with lies and rambling nonsense meant to get in my head and create fear. I don’t have the time or energy for that. My energy is reserved for building my dream, and that dream is becoming a reality. That’s the real reason she keeps trying so desperately to tear me down—because no matter what she does, she can’t stop me.
My dream has always been to create a pet retreat where dogs receive the very best care, and that dream came true with Olive & Company. I am extremely proud of everything I’ve accomplished, and I know in my heart that both myself and my staff treat every pup with genuine love and care. In all the time we’ve been open, even prior to opening Olive & Company when we were Laurens Grooming Katy, we have never been accused or investigated for anything—because our integrity and the well-being of the dogs always come first. Our amazing customers will be the first to tell you that they trust us completely, and they know their dogs are safe, happy, and loved when they come to Olive & Company.
And through it all, I’ve kept asking myself the same question: Why? Why me? I did nothing but help her and she has tried for nearly a decade to destroy me.
The scary thing is I’m not the only one. This is her hobby and over the years I have in fact met several others that experienced similar harassment and stalking from Carey Smith. The only explanation I can see is that Carey is deeply disturbed and mentally unwell. But living through this has been sickening, terrifying, and exhausting.
From the bottom of my heart, thank you for your love, support, and for taking the time to hear my story.
I want to be completely transparent by sharing with everyone the pages she has created. Please report them( I already have and facebook has done nothing)
https://www.facebook.com/share/19hqwjdqwa/?mibextid=wwXIfr
https://www.facebook.com/share/19BMfc3uee/?mibextid=wwXIfr
https://www.facebook.com/share/g/1CiXr5woiA/?mibextid=wwXIfr
My Story: Fighting Back Against Online Harassment 
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