This summer has been very busy for me. I have had tons of requests, some from previous/repeat clients, and some from new ones I've never dealt with before. Of course the repeat clients get priority with me, but if I have a week or two that is unbooked (I try to only keep one pet family at a time) I will accept people's inquiries and set up meet and greets with them. (duh! lol) However, even though I normally don't have any issues with this, over the past few weeks I have had 3 no shows on meet and greets. The people want to meet and greet, but they are sketchy and slow to respond when we message back and forth. Sometimes they want to meet the same day or next day, which I can usually do, so I cancel any previous plans (such as errands or going to the nail salon) and I rush home after work to wait for them, only to have an hour go by with no show and no contact, for them to finally reply that "their plans changed." This even happened 2 days in a row with 2 different people. One lady even messaged me, set up a meet and greet for the next day, cancelled the meet and greet (in advance) saying she is having a friend watch the dog. Then 2 days later she calls me frantically saying that those plans fell through and needed to do a meet and greet that evening so she could set up the stay for the next week. I agreed, rushed home after work, was supposed to meet at 6:30, with me messaging her several times "I'm off work, heading home, I'm ten minutes away, I'm home now, etc." An hour and a half goes by before she texts me saying that they decided to keep her in some kennel at a training facility....

So what is going on? Am I doing something wrong by trying to meet my clients needs and be available for them when they need me to? How can I avoid this from happening again in the future?

I have a lady who is unable to keep her elderly dog with her in her current home, she found me on craigslist when I was searching for a roommate, but instead she asked if she could pay the roommate rent, but I could care for her dog. I agreed since I already do so much with animals. However, if you expect to get your dog back, or be able to frequently visit him, you should pay for his expenses such as food, any medical expenses, extras such as treats, toys, beds, and also a little something for the person caring for your pet. You basically are paying for someone to keep your dog for you, I call it permanent boarding, or long term boarding. He's been with us a year now, the lady even has a copy of the house key so she can come by any time she wants. Just put up an ad on craigslist or a similar site, or even message someone on rover if they would consider something like that. Of course you wouldn't be paying their regular rate, that would cost way too much. You may find someone who is willing to do it for free or cheap, which would be cool, but remember, its a stranger taking care of your dog which you love and probably want back soon, so just make sure its someone you can trust. I hope this reply doesn't sound bad... I just wouldn't want to care for someone else's pet for free. Good luck.