Poor experience overall. We met w/Brooke on Mon. to review everything for her 4-night/5-day stay, & flew out of town Tu morning. It was hot (80's) on Tu, and I was very clear she should only walk our dog in a.m. and at dinner around block so he could poop. I didn't want him walking in the heat esp. since he injured his ear and is a furry dog who gets hot easily. Advised her multiple times (verbally, in writing, via text) to take him out in our yard to pee (where most dogs go). I also told her NOT to walk him at night since we don't have sidewalks in our neighborhood and it's too dangerous. Later that night I find out she's been walking him down street all day (even for pee breaks) and also walked him at night despite our directions not to. I addressed it and thought we were good for next few days. The next day she walked him on a totally different route with fast driving cars, into the area marked "don't walk here" clearly marked on on the map I drew her. She said "Oh I"m not good with directions", and also got lost while walking around the block(!!!). It became painfully clear that I had to tell her exactly what to do and when, via short texts, "take him around the block at 5pm, give him his dinner at 6pm, bring his water", etc. If I asked 2 question in a text, she only responded to one. It was very frustrating, this was a quick trip and she couldn't even follow the dog sitting basics. We also asked her to let us know in advance if she left the house and approx. times, so that we'd know when she was gone. My neighbor told us her car wasn't in driveway, and I confirmed on our security camera that she was gone. Never got a text, and when I asked where she was, she said "oh I just needed to go home, I'll be back in 2 hours". I asked her why she didn't text us, and she said because she'd be right back (1 1/2 hours later), thinking we'd never know. I wonder how many other times she went out without telling us. It's obvious she likes animals, but she appears to have a tough time following instructions and remembering basic details. We also asked her to rinse the dishes since our dishwasher doesn't work well. Today we found in our dishwasher her dirty dishes with dried on food and noodles, which all had to be scrubbed by hand. When you're trying to enjoy your vacation and continually have to repeat every basic detail to someone getting $45 per day, it's hard to enjoy your vacation. It appears the reviews are mainly from aunts and cousins who booked her outside of Rover, who she said go in the yard and she doesn't walk. Overall she likes dogs and our dog liked her, but it takes more than that to be a good dog sitter. She's a young girl (24?) and my guess is that she's not used to following someone else's instructions. The fact that she couldn't follow a simple route to walk our dog, or follow basic instructions says a lot. What's clear from our stay is that she's not capable of following instructions or communicating well. We also got very few updates or pics, even after telling her we preferred more vs. less updates. I had to ask for updates outside of the poop walk map we were sent at my request. Unfortunately we would not use her again based on our experience.

Thanks Brooke for taking such good care of our two English bulldogs. It’s hard to trust them with just anyone because they need more care than a normal dog. Brooke fed them their special raw diet, groomed them, and walked them daily. They both appeared happy and well upon our return. I’m so glad I picked Brooke, she is very reliable and I would highly recommend her to everyone. Thanks again! Kelly