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Pet death due to sitter negligence - what should I do?

I booked with a http://Rover.com sitter on Saturday, Nov 3rd when my husband and I were out of town attending my cousin's wedding. He had 4-5 five-star ratings and lived nearby, so I felt he would be a good fit. He had text me earlier on the day we planned to pick him up that he would be available any time after 6, but possibly earlier depending on his "clients". I thought it was a little odd that a sitter would be working during the time he was meant to be be watching someone's dog, but I assumed he knew what he was doing and that the dogs were safely inside his house at the very least.

I got a text saying he was home and left to pick up my dog. When I got there he asked me if I had come by and got my dog while he was at the store (?????), then informed me that he couldn't find him anywhere and that he'd (the dog) been sitting on his outside furniture when he'd left for the store. Ensue us looking all over the house, the yard, and soon the entire neighborhood for the next 4 hours in the dark.

The sitter eventually text me saying "found her", then said his friend had found someone on our town's lost and found Facebook page who had posted a picture of our dog's collar. I then waited for said person to get back to me or the sitter's friend with an address. Eventually I was given a phone number. The woman who I called had found him dead on the side of the road and taken his body to her house.

She gave me her address and my husband and I, heartbroken, returned with his body around 9:30 PM. I won't go into how much he meant to us, because that would take a while. But I will say that we loved him beyond words, treated him like our child, and needed the next day or two to recuperate. We even called off work to get our heads around it and bury him.

I should also add that someone also commented on the FB post saying that they had seen our dog earlier that day walking near the road, around 12-1 PM, but that he'd run back in the fence so they assumed he lived there or new the dogs. So this wasn't some miraculous one-time escape, and he'd obviously been left outside most of the time with little to no supervision.

And now I am left with the question of what to do. I feel like at the very least we should be reimbursed for the time he was "watched" and that the sitter never be allowed to use Rover again. Does anyone know what I should do/who I should contact about this?

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Hi Leah, I can't imagine what you and your family must be going through right now. For situations like this you'd want to reach out to Rover's Trust & Safety team. You can contact them by phone at 888-727-1140.

Rover still employs a distrusting kyung dog murderer. Her name is Bonnie Baumgartner aka Bonnie B aka Bonlicious in Windermere metro west Orlando Florida area. I’ve contact Rover countless times about her killing my beloved pet and they don’t care. They only allow her food reviews so people will

Never know by her profile what a lying phony she is. She does opposite of what she says despite the “pictures” & “updates” i have video! She killed my innocent sweet boy

She was my pet sitter for 6 years until she killed my dog in October! She always sent sweet pictures and great updates so i thought she really cared for them until it was to late. Her story didn’t add up so we watched camera footage and she 100% completely neglects them…she left my dogs to run

she left my dogs to ru around pool alone and unattended. Brutus fell in and drowned, she only noticed when she was leaving at end of visit. He was in pool for over 20 minutes. She was sitting inside staring at her phone entire time and blasting music on my kitchen Alexa. I showed company footage

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Oh my gosh Leah, I am so sorry for your loss. That is a horrible story. I can only imagine the pain you and your family are going through. My heart breaks for you as I read your story.l, it puts me to tears just thinking about it. I am so sorry! As Alyxe said, I would most definatelly contact Rover support. This person should not be watching dogs. In the mean time while Rover does an investigation into what happened, I would also write a review if his profile is still up so other clients are aware of what horrific experience with this person. I know it is not about the money but yes Rover should also issue you a full credit, i also believe you can look into compensation through rovers insurance policy. (Again, I know it's not about the money but even if you donated the money to an animal foundation or something.) I wish you the best. My thoughts and prayers go out to you and your family.

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I'm so sorry to hear this. it's terrible losing a furbaby. I pray that The Lord brings you both peace during this time. Definitely leave a review on that guys page and contact Rover. something needs to happen.

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Sue that person for neglect. Thats horrible and my heart goes out 2 u. Call the town magistrate and see what they sugest

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Yes please leave a review. I'm a rover sitter and that is uncalled for. In my opinion he should have been home with the fur babies he watched or just don't do dog boarding at all. Just my opinion. Sorry for your loss

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I am new to Rover and just read your post, I just want to give my condolences. Losing a pet is never easy, I am extremely sorry for your loss.

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I am so sorry for your loss. I understand your pain. out sitter for years Bonnie baumgartner in Orlando killed our Brutus. She is a liar and fooling people until it’s too late. She makes it seem like she care with pictures and nice updates but it’s lies. She ignores pets and stares at phone!

She was fired from other pet sitting company but she’s still active on rover! Friends have let me know and keep reporting account but nothing happens. So it just seems likes she’s great to watch your pets! I have videos of all the negligence. She should never be around pets.