Ideas/suggestions on 2 dogs whose owner stopped paying for sitting and wont retrieve them?

I don't understand why they are only allowed outside of their crate for 5 minutes of every day. That sounds like a miserable life. It would be more fair to pursue getting them re-homed. Have you contacted Rover support, at least to document the situation and your attempts to return them to their owner? Your profile shows 2 dogs of your own. I'm guessing you wouldn't crate them for 23 hours and 55 minutes of every 24 hours. I also noticed your profile shows you accept 20 dogs at a time, as you live on a half acre, so it's somewhat surprising that these two are preventing you from accepting clients.

Since unpaid for well over 5 months, this seems to fall under Georgia's dog abandonment laws, section 4-8-3. You may contact local (city/county) animal care organizations for additional guidance on proceeding. https://www.animallaw.info/statute/ga... If you want to pursue re-homing, this site may be worth checking out: https://getyourpet.com/

This article that I just read may help with the financing of the dogs' care. https://www.petmd.com/dog/care/5-ways...

I can't say I have a better answer than the others at all but WOW. Just WOW. I agree with everything the others said - give the owner a definitive time line (even if it's just 2 days from now) and let him know if he hasn't paid up you will be working with adoption services to re-home them and start small claims court proceedings. Let him know you also expect him to arrange for them to be taken to the vet for their annual check up and shots by x date, otherwise you will no longer be able to care for them.

I guess my big confusion is why do they have to be in crates all the time? And how on earth can they hold their pee for 24 hours (or are they peeing in their crates)? Are they vicious dogs? If they are, that is a whole different ball game and I would say it's long past time to re-home them, as you aren't the best fit because you have a business to run. If they are not mean dogs, I don't understand. Any liability insurance you have should cover them even if the owner is not paying. Your insurance should cover any dog in your home, regardless of how they got there or why.

Wow, this is a sad situation to hear about. In a situation like this I would probably side with the dog. It sounds like this owner has a very hard time accommodating a pet and sometimes the pet is safer and happier with someone who can provide the care they need. Something else to consider is that actual standard of living these dogs are having to face now that they're being crated over 23 hours of everyday. If this owner has not been able to provide care for OVER A YEAR and now cannot make payments on discounted care rates, are they going to be able to buy food for their pets and actually get their vaccines and really care for them the way they need? If I was in this position I would try to contact the owner again to let them know that without payment you'll be forced to give the dogs up for their safety, well-being, and happiness.

Just two things! Lawyer and Small Claims Court

Have you resolved this yet? Forcing dogs to live in a crate for a full year with just 5 minutes a day is just as bad as abandoning them... It's no way for a dog to live, especially one- or two- that have done nothing but have a bad over. There are no responses from you that I can see on this board, and this is a heartbreaking situation. Please say you have resolved this with Rover or the owner.

I don't know if you're still dealing with this issue, but Rover has a policy for this exact circumstance. You can read it here under section 2.7: https://www.rover.com/terms/tos/ Before any pet owner uses the Rover app, they sign a terms of service statement. This states:

"Pet Owners who arrange for Pet Care Services and fail to retrieve their pet after the service period identified in a Booking agree that Rover (or the Service Provider) may, in its (or his or her) sole discretion, place the pet in foster care, transfer care to animal control or other law enforcement authorities, or find other alternate care. Pet Owner agrees to reimburse Rover and/or the Service Provider for all costs and expenses associated with such actions."

Contact Rover and let them know the situation. They will advise you how to proceed. Follow their instructions to the letter. Don't waste your own money on a lawyer when that's what Rover fees are for.

At this point, you need to contact both Rover and animal control. This is legal abandonment.

Okay, so depending on where you are located ( however, typically this is a nation wide issue)you are now MORE than entitled to file what's called an animal abandonment charge. Keep in mind, this is way beyond the scope of Rover. I've worked animal rescue 20 years. If you need help, let me know.

Omg. You kept these dogs crated for 24 hours day for a year and are only now asking for help?
Once the owner abandoned the dogs, you were responsible for them and it was up to you to do the right thing by them. Instead, you continued the neglect and abuse are playing the victim? Shame on you.

Get out of this business.

Please tell me you called the Rover Emergency Hotline? I only suggest this because Rover is AWFUL at responding to 'other non emergency' situations.. but this situation clearly well beyond that. They should partner with you and local animal services / law enforcement to A: track this loser and B: help you find foster or permanent home for these pups, as Deb states above there are a number of options available. Please let this group know your progress and update us when you can