What do you do when a dog owner has not picked up their dog on the last night of their stay and is not responding?

Hi Rover Community, During my last booking the dog's owner wasn't there when I brought the dog back to his apartment. I could not get in touch with him. After few days i finally got his full name from his vet as Rover did not want to share this information. I found the person was evicted the day after I got the dog and is now in jail. I did everything to get in touch with the family and take the best decision for the dog. Meanwhile, I had to keep the dog for an extra 12 days!! Sure I could have brought the dog to a shelter but I have consideration for animal. Rover initially said they will cover the necessities for the dog (bed, food, ...) but after I submitted my receipts they said they can do a "gesture of $xx" which was 25% of the total amount. They failed to honor their commitment.

The story is too long to be told here but I want to warn everyone about the "Trust" Department of Rover who is not taking responsibilities when it comes to a challenging situation like mine. They are not giving consideration nor to the sitter and nor to the animal!!

This is outrageous!

When I do a Meet & Greet and both the Pet Parent and I believe this is a Great fit, I give them a form to take home to fill out and bring back when they come for the "drop". One section is titled Emergency Information. It asks for another "Contact" name and phone #- family, friend, etc that knows them and the pet(s) well, And "Others Authorized To Pick Up Your Pet And Phone Numbers. I explain that if their return flight is delayed or cancelled or they are delayed on the road, I can contact these people either for information or pick up if the Pet Parent is unreachable. Or, they Must contact me if they will pay at rover.com for the extra day(s) right away. I keep a file on each client with important information for their pup(s) such as medications & amount, potential health problems and especially veterinarian/clinic name, address and phone number, etc.

I have had a similar situation like yours where the pet parents weren't responding because they were to busy having fun. Support told me that the client has to pay before the "pick up" for me to get paid. My customer did pay when they came to pick up.

This has not happened to me, but I would be in touch with Rover support, in part to seek assistance, and in part to draw their attention so they can help you get compensated. I would use every method you have to contact them and come from a place of concern, making sure to mention that you hope they are okay and the family is safe. I would go through with the the "Extend This Stay" option at least, presuming you are available to take care of their dog. I've had issues in the past with Rover's messaging system, so it's possible they didn't get some of your messages or they replied and the messages didn't come through. It's also possible they don't have cell phone service or they had a serious emergency of some kind. Hang in there and let us know what happens! Good luck!

Jean-Remi: Your post deserved a thread of its own, rather than being attached to one from 2015.

I commend you for thinking about the dog and wanting to make sure it’s needs were met, doing that additional leg work, and asking rover if they could compensate. I believe they did so as a gesture of goodwill and PR. However, a bed (and probably anything beyond basic food) was likely beyond the amount they’d allocate. The person who was evicted & jailed, probably knew that this circumstance was upcoming when they made arrangements to have you sit the dog. I’d guess that person is not in the right position to actually care for the dog. It sounds harsh but the kindest thing for the dog might’ve been to rehome it, either yourself/working with a rescue group/or animal control, in accordance with state abandonment statutes.

As for Rover trust and safety, it really doesn’t cover much. If a dog injures/ damages a sitter/walker, or their home, or their pets, it doesn’t help.