I was away when the owner came for a surprise early pickup, and now she's angry. What do I do?

I know it has been answered already but I will agree with everyone by saying make sure there is communication with the owner. I make it a point to have the pick up and drop of times indicated on the message boards between the client and myself. That way if at any time someone says something then I have it go to back to. I also make sure the clients understand that I will be away on specific days and certain time frames of those days. One M&G expressed that her dog needed more attention than what I had to offer so we mutually agreed it was not a good fit. Don't forget the the owners of these animals wants what is best for their dog, not necessarily what is best for you. So if you put it in a context that expressed their dogs needs it can easily be understood and respected.

Sorry that happened to you, I am still dreading the day that this might happen. It happened once before but she was fine with it because it actually benefited her in the long run anyways so she actually thanked me for not being home (however I was on a walk with her dog too which was why I wasn't home) I even suggested that I bring her dog to her for the inconvenience.

Unless you told the owner you would never leave the house, there was zero reason for her to panic. I always ask at meet how long dog spends alone and where when alone. That's when I discuss how long I'm gone from the house etc. I agree with your husband to NEVER let random people in your house. Honestly I would have been nervous for her to mess with your dogs or house with her over reacting like that. Definitely calling/emailing Rover about the situation is key. It just helps to have "paper trail" of how you tried to fix problem. I also like to check with owner the morning of drop off/pick up to reconfirm time.

Wow, that lady definitely overreacted. One way to prevent this kind of thing is to discuss at the meet-n-greet how long the dog is left alone for & how often you'll be gone/mention that very occasionally you'll have to leave the house for errands but the dog won't be left alone for longer than __. This is very important because if the person expects you to never leave your house then she's an unreasonable person you don't want to book with. Better to find that out earlier than later.