Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Theoretically, one could bring a civil action for "conversion" of your property in Small Claims Court, but you'd have to limit your claim for damages to $7,500, the Small Claims limit. More commonly, I'd think something like this would be handed as a criminal matter, rather than civil, but I guess the police didn't find sufficient evidence of a crime to pursue it with the D.A. and arrest and charge the pet sitter. Sounds like a case of larceny rather than burglary, since the pet sitter was given access and there was no break-in. Pursuing something like this as a civil matter rather than letting the D.A. prosecute it as a crime has both plusses and minuses. On the plus side, the standard of proof is lesser (perponderance of the evidence rather than beyond a reasonable doubt) and you could win money damages rather than maybe just getting some restitution. On the other hand, you'd have to hire your own lawyer and put in a lot of effort investigating, planning and making trips to court. Also, there may be some personal safety issues in trying to sue a thieving druggie.