score:
1

Three sick dogs?

I'm scheduled to housesit with three small dogs for four days, starting tomorrow.

The owner just let me know that all three dogs have diarrhea. One has been sick for a couple of days, the other two got sick this morning. She's taking them to the vet now and we left it that she'll tell me what the vet says.

Of course she doesn't want to cancel her trip and may not get her money back for flights etc. and I understand that. But being responsible for three possibly very sick dogs feels overwhelming to me.

What would you do?

Comments

Thanks for the replies. The owner's vet tech was able to come stay with the dogs, which was the best possible outcome for everyone I think.

3 Answers

Sort by ยป oldest newest most voted
score:
0

If you don't feel like you can take care of them, then you must tell the client immediately and hope that Rover can find someone else. If they're sick, perhaps the vet can board them. But I think it is very important to be upfront with the client.

score:
0

There could be all kinds of liability issues on this. What if something happened and they blamed lack of care. It would fall on you as the sitter. Does anyone know if Rover has a policy regarding sick dogs?

Plus, watching dogs that are sick is much more hands-on with clean-up and feeding and making sure they are staying hydrated. Good Luck.

score:
0

This just happened to me where a dog became sick while at my house and the owner had no plans to have them brought to the vet even though they were told that my vet said that the dog should be seen by someone within th week or brought to the ER. I was also watching another dog besides my own, and was worried for the health of those dogs. There was no feasible way to separate the dogs because all have separation anxiety and I was alone at home at the time. Fortunately, the owner was still in town and agreed to take her sick dog home. We modified the booking and bothe agreed to it, and I gave her a discount for the inconvenience. I don't know what I would have done if the owner couldn't take back her dog and still refused to have it taken to a vet...