2nd sitter has left and taken my dog and my vehicle

Sitter Questions, Advice & Chat
41

@Akbeckham86 I am so sorry that you are in this truly dreadful position.

I am going to go out on a limb here. Have you considered contacting a news agency about your situation? This is the kind of thing that they would be all over. Getting this out there would allow the public to be on the lookout for your sitter, dog and car.

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42

I truly hope you are getting the support you need from THS.
Your faith in human nature will have taken a real battering.

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43

I am so sorry. I am still hoping you and Maverick are reunited.

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44

Thank you! I will post and let people know when he is safe again. Its tough because im deployed still and we got extended until late summer. I wont even be able to hug him when is found. Ill have to virtually hug him thru video calls with my mom and friends.

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45

@Jenny

Anything else that can be done from your end considering that when we have our IDā€™s verified with the platform you have access to them?

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46

Hi @Ckone2541

I hear you. Iā€™m not able to go into detail, but I know the team is taking this very seriously and that itā€™s being handled in the most appropriate way.

In the meantime, the Forum team are all keeping OP and Maverick in our thoughts.

Jenny

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47

This must be the nightmare of every pet owner. I see TV and online reports that the local community is rallying around the efforts to locate Maverick and I sincerely hope heā€™s soon found safe and sound

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48

Best of luck!

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49

Hope these reports spread nationally in the USA. The OP stated that the sitter/suspect is thought to have left the state.

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50

Did you hear back, @Ckone2541 ? :worried:

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51

I think to myself, how is THS going to prevent such a thing from happening again, or is this an anomaly that simply canā€™t be anticipated?

Can a HO ask about a sitterā€™s mental health? Thing is, most of us cat lovers are already known to be somewhat crazy, soā€¦

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52

I didnā€™t :frowning: ā€¦

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53

Itā€™s a violation of ADA laws in the states if Iā€™m not wrong (for businesses at leastā€¦) however it is a new elephant in the room that will have to be addressed.

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54

What kind of answer would you expect even if it were legal to ask and if sitters didnā€™t tell you to drop dead? Like would someone say something like, yeah, Iā€™m an iffy bet and might take your dog and your car? Are hosts qualified to determine anyoneā€™s mental health? What if in turn hosts were asked about their mental health? The whole thing strikes me as ludicrous.

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55

New York Post and NewsNation Live with Marnie picked it up. Im honestly pretty scared of how big this got overnight

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56

I think the safest thing would be to ask sitters for an emergency contact. Right now only HOā€™s are asked.

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57

Agreed, hence lies a problem. HOs are entrusting their home and pets with, truly, a totally unknown person. A few emails and video call isnā€™t enough. However, this is an issue with anyone that you may do personal or commercial business with. I guess Iā€™m just pondering out loud.

There are no answers other than honesty and trust. We build our identity and integrity on them. Weā€™ve learned to question those traits in car salespeople, insurance agents, and politicians, but not pet sitters

Iā€™ll shut up now.

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58

Oh, thatā€™s disappointing @Ckone2541 :disappointed_face:

59

Nothing stopping hosts from asking. Iā€™ve been asked and had no problem giving one, because itā€™s in my interest, too, if something happens to me.

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60

We were asked to complete the emergency contact details on our sitter profile after one of the app updates (probably a couple of years ago) so itā€™s in there somewhere. Agree itā€™s a good safety net. #emergencycontact

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