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Dog brought in fleas?

I have a pet owner that dropped off a dog covered in fleas. I didn't notice it at first but I told the owner a bath is required if the dog is staying an extended period of time. A little over a week into the stay I was bathing the dog and noticed he was covered in fleas. I informed the owner with pictures and quarantined the dog. The owner told me he was up to date on everything when he dropped him off and when I asked about preventative care for fleas he said he used to have a collar but all the fleas on the dog should be dead.

I am watching the dog on a week by week basis for the owner as they are in the process of buying a house but delayed with COVID. I have 3 extra collars but this is by far the largest dog I've cared for and none of them fit. He ended up ordering the collar for me to pickup but was fairly frustrated. He dropped the dog of to me without any dog food even and was expecting me to keep him for about a month. He told me he brought the dog directly from another rover sitter who could no longer watch him. I should've suspected something then but he told me for some reason the other sitter found out she was allergic.

UPDATE 4/19/2020: I reached out to the owner and informed him that my rate is going up to $20/night for boarding starting next week. The owner was livid that it was going to be $2 more a night. He claimed that we had agreed on a month long contract and that I was not honoring that. I informed him that I told him I couldn't commit to month long from the beginning for a dog I have never watched before which is why we did week by week. I also told him I would give him ample notice if anything were to change, I've given him one week. This dog has been a lot of work and the owner barely ever responds to me. I almost am wondering if the owner is even in the process of actually buying a new house or if he just cant afford care for the dog. I reminded him that I gave the dog my dog's food for the first week for free (and he eats a lot- he's 85lbs). I have asked for feedback after each week and he doesn't respond. He was reluctant to help with medication for the fleas. I believe this dog is being neglected and shipped from sitter to sitter because the owner does not have the financial ability to take care of him. He is still trying to strong arm me into keeping the $18/night rate for next week instead of $20/night but I've done more work for this dog than any of my other pets. At this point I'm glad he is ... (more)

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Lisa provided a complete answer to your original question.

Since I've read your update, I'd add that it seems worthwhile to contact Rover by phone, ask for Trust & Safety team representative, and ask them to make a few notes on the owner's /dog profile. Let them know that the dog came to you with fleas and no food. The owner was not prepared to pick up the dog when the booked stay expired, so you've offered to extend the stay for a nominal $2 additional per night and he is trying to coerce you to extend at your original rate, which you're not willing to extend for this dog.

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I totally agree with Deb! I should have thought about telling you to contact Rover but it slipped my mind. I hope that it all worked out!

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That sounds like a bit of an ordeal, especially as it seems as though you have an owner that doesn't really care about his dog's safety or health. I don't know if there is a right or wrong answer, this is something you'll have to figure out how you want to handle.

In your shoes, if I had an unresponsive or just wasn't "getting it done" owner and was going to have the dog more than another day or so, I would handle it like this: I would let the owner know that I absolutely require that the dog's fleas be taken care of; if he/she didn't have the product by the next day I would let the owner that I was going to be getting x flea treatment (if he has already provided one he's okay with I'd get that). If he wasn't responsive I'd either buy the flea treatment or if it was a dog prone to allergies I'd call the dog's vet and make an inquiry. In the end, it's possible I'd have to eat the cost of the flea treatment and extra baths, but I'd rather that than risking infecting the other dogs in my care or getting flea bites myself. Regarding the prong collar, I (and I think some other sitters) have extra doggy care stuff on hand, including extra leashes, harnesses, and I also have a prong collar for big dogs. As with the flea care, if the prong collar were critical to the dog's safety (i.e. the dog escapes without being tied down with the collar on or whatever the case may be, I'd buy the prong collar and just add it to my collection of things I have available. If the owner did not reimburse me, and especially if they were unresponsive, I would NOT book with them again. If you've only booked for x days and the owner wants to extend, I'd tell them no, unless I were to get reimbursement for the items or I'd charge them extra to compensate. Then the ball is in their court to accept or not.

Update on 4/13/20: If I were you I would not extend past what you've already confirmed and he's paid for unless you know you have enough food & flea meds & the dog is good. If he leaves a bad review you can craft a very nice response (you could even post here a request for help in how to respond) and it shouldn't hurt you overall - often it's the lack of response or how the response is written that clients will consider more than a bad review itself, especially if you have other positive reviews. If you decide not to extend and you know you're the second sitter, it might not hurt to contact Rover and let them know you're having a difficult experience with the client. My guess is if he may realize he's in the wrong and won't leave a review at all. I also ... (more)

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Thanks Lisa! I added some background info to the boarding experience. Any additional advise would be much appreciated. I don't want to get a bad review but the owner is not responding to me or providing any feedback.