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What do you do when the Home you're sitting in is less than desirable? (Dirty, Smells, Bugs) But the Pets are wonderful. (disclaimer the pets are safe, in good health and are clean.)?

I understand that not everyone is super clean. But I have been on a job recently (sitting) where the home was very unclean. When I was at the meet and greet we did not tour the whole home (which is fine, i'm not moving in) and I noticed an odor of urine. I brushed it off because I have see it before. But the day of my stay while the home was tided up a bit the smell was almost unbearable (to the point it game me a headache). I finally saw the bathroom which was horrendous and I was afraid to touch anything. The worst part was the kitchen... I moved something on the kitchen counter and there was a roach (Alive and scurrying away). In addition while there we (the dog and I) heard scratching like an animal in the walls or vents or something. Something that sounded like a mouse or rat. The family is nice the pets are safe and taken care of (good health); but I'm afraid they will call on me again and I just don't know if I can stay in that house again. HELP what do I do? What do I say? I never want to hurt anyone's feelings but I don't know what to say.

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Just get brave and day no.

I absolutely say no….did it today. What I would like to know is how do I block that pet owner from ever requesting me again??

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If the family is nice, pets are safe and you do not want to hurt anyone's feelings, you should grab some rubber gloves and clean the house as much as possible :)

But you should really pay attention when doing a meet and greet.

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I agree, a home visit would have helped so you never became involved. If the animals are loved and people are nice text them and say that but you got freaked out by some critters in the ceiling or vents and ask if you can offer a cleaning service to go before your next stay

It’s tough to clean without asking because people like that are sometimes embarrassed by the situation at home like a hoarder, so you might hurt them anyway so tell the truth so they can start looking for another sitter and not thinking you will be their go to since you didn’t mention anything then

I always do a home visit when I pet sit and request to see the room and bathroom that I will be staying in and never accept until I've seen them.

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While unfortunate, if you accept the booking you just gotta deal with it. I stayed in one like this where the dogs freely peed all over. I did some training to stop that, cleaned up fairly well and created a single small space that was mine and clean. Because of the quality of the home I definitely spent less time there than I would have a clean one, but I was hired to do a job and I did it. I will even book this client again, but require a little extra for cleaning basically.

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