I’ve sustained a few serious injuries in my dogsitting career, from which I am now suffering chronic pain. Has anyone else?
My partner has been bitten by a parrot (twice), bitten by a large dog (once), injured her leg during dog walking (once), attacked by a Maine Coon (once). So far I haven’t received anything beyond a scratch (Bengal cat playing rough). The dog bite still hurts 3 months afterwards, hopefully we’ll be able to resolve it. I think it’s also the only injury that could not have been prevented, since she was following the instructions of the HO in detail. What kind of injuries have you received? Just curious, since we’ll certainly be trying to avoid any more injuries.
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A few small scratches from cats, but the main injury was being attacked by a cockerel (one of two) called Dave who was certainly in charge of a large group of chickens I was looking after as well as two dogs and a cat. I hadn’t been told my the HO that Dave was vicious until they returned home. Dave went for my leg and drew blood and I was pretty scared of him while I was there, avoiding him as much as possible. Not even sure he and the other cockerel should have been with the hens… When the HO returned he told me that Dave had done the same to his wife!
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Wow I am sorry to hear about all of these injuries with pets. It is an interesting topic for me as I used to work professionally with horses and had my far share of kicks, nips and toes accidentally trampled on.
When housesitting now I always ask the pet owners in advance if the pets have any quirks or unusual behaviours, even something that maybe normal to them but I may not be expecting it. I also ask if there is anything that I should not do around their pets. One owner let me know not to play with the squeaky toys as it was too stimulating, which was very helpful.
I hope you all recover well and stay safe!
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Not injured directly from the pet but in February 2021 I was trying to rescue one of the dogs I was sitting for, from a dam - long story. I slipped and tore all rotator cuff tendons and dislocated my bicep tendon. Operated on and spent three months in a dreadful abduction sling and another year of physio to regain full use of my shoulder/arm. Still struggling today.
My last sit with two cats, one went berserk when I went to stroke it and I had to get a tetanus shot and antibiotics, it was a very nasty scratch/s.
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Oh my goodness! You poor thing! It just goes to show what could happen on sits and how much care you were taking, to the detriment of your own safety
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@Smiley yes, and the worst part was, I didn’t tell the homeowners because I didn’t want them to think me incompetent or something but they didn’t even leave me a review! I certainly went over and above on that sit in many ways so was very upsetting all round.
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Oh no!! I doubt they’d have thought you incompetent, it’s very easy to slip - I fell flat on my face recently on an easy walk, although there were stones and tree roots to negotiate. I think if you had told the owner he/she would have been very impressed with your care, unless you’re thinking they might not have liked the fact the dog fell into the dam? Not your fault though! So annoying when owners don’t leave reviews although so far I haven’t Experiences that. No doubt I shall…
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Once on my very first walk with a very sweet Yorkie I slipped on some rocks going down the steep street and totally scraped up my leg. It was very painful and gruesome but thankfully the dog just stood there like “Who is this crazy lady?”
Also thankfully we weren’t too far from the house so I trudged back up and did some first aid. After that I ALWAYS ask where the first aid kit is just in case I need one in a pinch!
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Yes, good idea to know where the first aid kit is. Not sure if it’s on the Welcome Guide template but, if not, it should be
My mom was housesitting a very old, and rather difficult cat in Australia. The cat bit her on her wrist. It happened on a Thursday night, so obviously on Friday, she hoped it would get better. But by Saturday morning she could tell it was getting worse. We then had to go to the local hospital. They took one look at her hand and admitted her straight away, leaving me to complete the paperwork. She ended up spending 6 nights in hospital, as she didn’t respond to the initial antibiotics, so they had to give her stronger stuff.
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Hi @second_star Membership Services deal with any and every reported issue on a case by case basis as there are so many variables and other members involved.
If there is ever a situation where an animal is an obvious threat then the member concerned needs to make themselves safe and contact the pet parent/owner member and the Membership Services team immediately.
To put this into context, there are thousands of sits happening around the world on any given day and incidents of this nature are incredibly rare, that is not to downplay the seriousness if they do happen but to reassure members.
I have been injured twice on a sits both involved logs for fires, one carrying them I slipped on the ice pulling my calf muscle quite badly, the other was a rather old and rusty wood chopper and a finger which got in the way … mine.
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@Angela_L my husband isn’t allowed to chop wood on housesits any more…
A few years ago on Christmas Day, just as I was finishing making the gravy before serving Christmas dinner, he entered the kitchen dripping blood and declaring that he was about to pass out. I’m afraid I wasn’t very sympathetic due to his poor timing, but I did get one of the boys to hold his hand up in the air, and cleaned and patched him up where he had sliced himself, before serving Christmas dinner. The doctor he saw the following day said I’d done a good job!
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@Debbie @Angela_L Hubby did exactly the same thing but he still loves chopping wood! 
I actually had a deja vu moment when I read the part where he entered the kitchen dripping blood, hubby said he was feeling hot & clammy at this point! Fortunately I wasn’t about to serve Christmas dinner! 
@Debbie @Samox24 … that “moment” was quite surreal, I was chopping wood (obviously) and as I was about to chop the 4th or 5th piece actually thought what if I miss … I did.
It wasn’t a very serious cut, the chopper was rather blunt but it was also very rusty, fast forward a week and a visit to Bakersfield hospital ER, an injection for the infected wound, a dressing and a $1,700 bill.
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