Sahara stayed at our house and watched our three dogs (one 9-year-old lab/husky mix, one 8-year-old lab/beagle mix, and one 5-month-old Australian cattle dog puppy) while we were out of the country for five days. Prior to the trip, we left detailed instructions through the Rover app and using printed sheets about their behaviors (noting they were house-trained) as well as potty and food schedules, and that our puppy was used to crating for up to four hours. She let us know the schedule worked well for her and disclosed that she had an event the evening of the first night and would be gone from 9 pm - 11 pm. As we had not heard from her that day, we sent a message earlier in the evening and then again at 2 am when we noticed on our Ring she had not returned and there was no follow up. We also involved Rover support given we were out of the country and anxious about if she would be returning to care for our dogs. She did respond after that letting us know she had to stay late to help her friend, and would be back within the hour, and she finally arrived at 4 am. Our puppy was crated for over 8 hours at that point. The next day, she also left at 1:45 pm and by 6 pm, still had not returned without any communication. Given our dogs typically are fed around 5 pm, we asked for an update to which she responded that she needed to continue Door Dashing for another hour, and she then returned at 7 pm. Following these two events, we asked for open communication about when she would be gone for extended periods, and she did share this information going forward. The day that we were scheduled to return, she messaged us letting us know the dogs were having frequent accidents in the house, which is very abnormal for them. We shared that adherence to a schedule of letting them out four times a day and accompanying them outside prevents this behavior. When we returned home, the carpets, rugs, and blankets were soaked in urine, requiring us to contact a carpet cleaning service. In the future, I would suggest Sahara (and potential sitters) have very clear communication regarding the importance of discussing extended periods away that would impact set feeding and potty schedules, as well as the importance of reaching out should the dogs have concerning behaviors to receive feedback from the owners on ways to mitigate this. Would also suggest communication about how often updates should be provided, as updates at least once a day may not be clearly known.

Sahara C. cancelled a booking 4 days before it was scheduled to begin.