4.0

Emma was very kind, communicative, and initially gave the impression that she was experienced and comfortable with dogs. The booking process was smooth, and we felt good leaving Nitro with her at first. However, the stay didn’t end up being a good fit. After the first day, Emma let us know she was uncomfortable continuing due to Nitro’s behavior (normal adolescent puppy behaviors, along with a couple of interactions with her dog), and asked us to make alternate arrangements for the second day. What made the situation more difficult was how the cancellation and pricing were handled. Emma asked me to cancel on my end, which would have made it appear as though I was the one ending the booking. She also mentioned that Nitro should have been booked at the puppy rate (roughly double the original rate) and attempted to retroactively apply that. In addition, after Nitro had an accident in the house, she sent a request for an additional fee. To make sure I handled everything correctly, I contacted Rover support. They confirmed that sitters shouldn’t retroactively change pricing or charge for days they are choosing to cancel, and they helped resolve the situation and issue a refund for the unused second day. Another concern was the level of activity. We were told Nitro had three walks, including one longer one, but the Rover card showed a nearly hour-long walk that only covered 0.1 miles. It gave us the impression he may not have gotten much actual exercise, which could have contributed to his restlessness. When we picked him up, he seemed a bit off and somewhat dehydrated. Emma was not rude in any of our interactions, but the overall experience left us feeling a bit uncomfortable and, at times, slightly pressured in how things were handled. Overall, Emma may be a good fit for calmer, lower-energy dogs, but for an active adolescent pup like Nitro, this wasn’t the right match.

Emma provided fantastic care and lots of love for our sweet, sensitive rescue pup. She was clearly very experienced and I appreciated how communicative she was. She will be our go-to sitter going forward!