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Unsure if I should report her or not…?

We spontaneously adopted a puppy [two-month old at the time] a month ago; three weeks before a scheduled flight during Thanksgiving. We had limited time to find a sitter, but found one that seemed like she’d be great. We went to her house a couple of weeks prior to dropping him off so they could meet, and nothing seemed off.

When I was about to schedule his stay at her home, I get a text from her asking if I’d be OK skipping Rover and paying her cash/check since she’d be getting half due to all the fees. I didn’t like the idea, but this was less than two weeks before Thanksgiving and there were no sitters left in my area, so I said yes and paid her a check of $130 for four days. I drop him off Thanksgiving Day, and it seemed like she was rushing to get me out of the house (understandably), but I was trying to explain how to feed him since we were changing brands and she’d have to mix the new and old together. I tried to be quick and left 5-ish mins later. We had a late flight coming in and she was accommodating letting us pick him up at 10:30 pm, but when I get home I noticed she didn’t at all mix the food; she just gave him the old one. I also noticed his indoor leash (I use it so he won’t run off unsupervised, and I told her she could do the same), two of his toys, the training clicker and snacks were all missing. When I message her about the food and missing items, she says I hadn’t mentioned anything about the food and that she was a “minimalist” and couldn’t find the items I said I’d left. I remember packing all these things because I thought she’d want her furniture not to be chewed on, and her wooden floors not peed on. I was also under the impression that she would do as I’d asked her: take him out every 1.5 to avoid accidents and to continue the training we’d been working on. He hadn’t progressed much, but we could trust he wouldn’t pee inside within an hour of taking him outside. After coming back from vacation, we’re back to square one because she didn’t follow through. I also believe she might have left her kids (three below the ages of 14) and/or one of the many people she has coming in and out, in charge of the dog.

I’m especially mad because I could have left him at a friend’s house for free, but because he is so high-maintenance (potty-training, biting, high-energy) I decided to pay someone to do it so they would follow instructions to the T. I’m trying to get her to at least pay for the missing items ... (more)

Comments

Yes, I would absolutely report your situation to Rover about this particular sitter. As Walt mentioned, it is not acceptable. I hope that you will still consider Rover for future sittings. There are wonderful Rover sitters out there!

Update: I did report her, and I believe her account was suspended.

4 Answers

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It is a violation of the Rover terms of service for a sitter to ask a client for cash vs. booking on the Rover platform, and this is unacceptable.

Please call Rover support @ [Edit: Rover’s contact options have changed. Visit the Rover Help Center at https://support.rover.com/ to find the phone number, help articles, or chat with the team] and report the siter. Sorry you had a bad experience

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Sounds like you took the appropriate course of action and reported her.

Rover takes seriously the act of sitters making private pay arrangements with those they meet via the Rover platform. It's a breach of the Terms of the Service for either client or sitter to do it (and yes, there are clients who ask).

That said, if you had rightly insisted on using Rover, you would at least have options available for the predicament that occurred (see Brittney W's comment). I'm guessing that the stress involved in making last minute arrangements gave you the feeling your only option was to agree.

As a sitter, I know I have to accept Rover's fees (which are 20% not half), what helps is I realize that the platform is providing a lot for me that I don't have to worry about (marketing, referrals, client guarantees, Paypal autopays, support, etc.) The fee the client has also benefits them.

Don't give up on Rover, but always insist on using it so you don't give up your rights! :)

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You can report her for requesting cash. Unfortunately, because you paid her cash you don't have any other recourse (e.g. bad review, reimbursement for missing items).

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Reporting will not do much, because you and her did this together. You say she has 3 kids, and many people in and out, why would you think she will have time to take care of a puppy while taking care of 3 kids and other people? I would never ask a mom of 3 to watch a puppy and expect she will be taking him out ever 90 mins. That was a bad choice on your part, sorry.

Comments

No, but thanks for the unhelpful comment. I reported her and he account ya been suspended. I guess now she can focus on her friends and kids, per your comment.

You're welcome. I am glad you finally understand why a person with many kids and friends in her house is unable to take care of a dog who is not housebroken yet.

It's not the client's responsibility to know the sitter's abilities. It's the sitter's responsibility to know what they can and cannot handle and maturely and professionally communicate these to the client in advance of any stay being agreed upon.

If the sitter welcomed my pup after I had been explicit about his needs, then it shouldn't be on me to judge what she can and cannot handle. As much as you'd like to argue that, this isn't on me.

Veronica, you're delusional. I am not arguing, but if you think this is NOT on you, you're seriously delusional. When I screen sitters to take care of my puppy, I screen carefully. I make sure I know if they have a house/kids/pets/visitors, or time to do a good job.

Jean - And if I hire a sitter for my puppy, it IS MY RESPONSIBILITY as a client to make sure I chose the perfect match. It is not the sitter's responsibility to know if she can handle my dog, because she does NOT know my dog. I know my dog and I am the judge of the sitter's characters.

To make an argument is the same thing as to make a statement, so I wasn’t saying you were arguing. That being said, now that you’ve jumped to insults, then maybe you are. If you’re getting this worked up over my OP (on a pet-sitting site of all places) you might want to consider taking a break.

Actually, I was just surprised to read when a dog owner makes a bad choice and then says it's not on her.... I mean, who do you want to blame for your choices? Me? I don't need to take a break really, my business has been going really well, after all my reviews are glowing :) xoxo

I’m really happy for you!

Veronica, an idea for future overnight stays is to parcel out the dog’s meals in zip lock bags -one bag for each meal. When your dog needs medication put that right in the food. Pill pockets, peanut butter, etc. MountainSmith makes a “ K-9” cube that works really well for keeping meals, toys etc 2gt