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Dog parents keep extending stay but some red flags?

Hi everyone!

My partner and I have been watching a dog who we were originally supposed have for just a week and we still have her 3 weeks later.

From the start: We checked their profile, there was no info on the dog, just her breed, weight, etc. & no info on the parents either, but we agreed. When she [dog] arrived, her parents were kind of like “here’s our dog - okay, bye”. When they left, we realized they had only given us a small amount of food, not enough for a week. Right off the bat, we were a little weary.

A few days before she was supposed to be picked up, they asked if we could watch her for another week, we agreed (bc she’s the sweetest girl), so they confirmed on the dates and payment via Rover. We did let them know that she needed more food, since we were already feeding her lightly, trying to split what she came with for that week; they said they would have someone bring it over. The person who dropped the food off was the dogs parent but they brought different food this time. We also send photos/videos & updates and they don’t really respond. Red flags??

Long story short, the parents reached out to us again asking us to watch her for another week, we agreed, and they confirmed via Rover. My partner and I are wondering if there is anyway this could be some sort of set up? If her parents have already paid via rover does that mean I will be paid regardless or is there any way they could be scamming Rover & we end up losing out on the money owed for the time we’ve had her? [that’s the real question] If so I’ll change her name right now but she’s definitely got a home with us! 😝

We really thought about it & we really don’t think they would abandoned her after bringing her food & how they keep messaging us, asking us extend her stay. But we’re just a little unsure of what’s going to happen. The parents [I think] are coming some time today or tomorrow to drop off more food, should we ask if they plan on extending her stay again or any other questions? Or are we maybe over reacting? Lol

Thank you!

3 Answers

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Patricia P.

As long as they continue to pay thru Rover, I wouldn't be concerned. During covid I had a client that was "stuck" down at their friends Florida beach compound. (friend was very wealthy) It was supposed to be a week... it became 6-8 weeks. I was happy for the money! LOL Do not let them pay off of Rover and you should be fine. You never know what is going on in someones life. Maybe someone is in the hospital, or they are moving and worry about the dog getting out, or having some construction done at the house. Who knows! Some clients talk to me, others don't...

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Deb A.

Sometimes parents will not respond to photo updates. I don’t consider that a red flag.

It’s not great that they didn’t bring enough food and then they changed her food. In the future if you see that it’s not enough food, I’d suggest you communicate right away and ask if they want to have some shipped or delivered to you or you pick it up and they’ll reimburse you in cash upon return.

If they keep approving the extended payment dates and Rover, I wouldn’t worry much. Once Rover has taken the pinged their payment account, rover holds onto it, and rover will pay you. This is a main advantage of booking on the system, and a reason why some sitters book people who found them outside of rover as rover bookings.You can call Rover directly to ask if they can see if it’s a new account or any suspicious activity because of your concerns that they may abandon dog.

After I wrote above, I noticed that you’re not shown as a rover sitter under your name. If this is not booked by Rover, collecting payment might be a concern.

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Lenka L.

I don't see anything weird with them extending, considering YOU are agreeing with petsitting their dog. They don't care about daily updates or photos of their dog, nothing weird about that either. I personally had few people who requested they do not wish to get daily updates and photos of their dog while in my care.

Why don't you ask them to bring a full bag of food? Are you scared to ask? I see no point of constantly requesting few cups of food being dropped off.

I guess because I've been doing this so long, I have no issues with communication and I ask all my clients to bring a full bag of food because I don't want to be in a situation you are in. I had it happen once and then I made sure I don't get myself in the same situation again.

But if you are not comfortable to watch the dog, just let them know and inform Rover, so they can find a new sitter that would be ok with this situation.

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Dog parents keep extending stay but some red flags?

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