We conducted our usual checks, conducted our fullsome hand over, departed from Oxford England to Bonaire off the coast of Venezuela for a month long trip. Day 2 check in all good. Day 3 email from sitter “ some concerns” about one of our dogs. Within 4 hours this escalated to a demand that the dog be removed from the house to an external third party sitter. 8 hours later, notice of termination. 2 days later, they unilaterally departed. We, unable to get a flight, still stuck 4500 miles away. Emergency house sit, pet care put in place at great cost… 2 further days later we finally get home, but at significant additional flight costs. Magically sitters numbers disappear from what’s app, emails go unanswered, calls ring out.
Of course, the worst fears start to be imagined. Were we a scam victim, are our possessions safe? Apart from the fact that every wardrobe has been gone through nothing appears missing.
What should we do? We are £1500 out of pocket, fortunately our house and pets are safe. But we feel like we have been done over. Any thoughts out there?
But what else can we say? Filling in the gaps, I can guess that one of your dogs bit and kept attacking the sitter. It is the only explanation that I can think of.
I’m wondering if @Limelight12 is referring to the feeling that they might have the victims of a scam (signs that the sitters rummaged in their wardrobes and who know what they found; the fact that they suddenly left, even though it is not explained what the problem with the dog was).
I think we’re missing a bit too much detail here to really support you. I would avoid jumping to too many conclusions about the state of your cupboards until you get home.
Did you want to share more about the dogs and the sitter’s reasons for leaving so we can help you communicate their needs better in future? To be honest, that activity might be better done later with a clearer head as well.
What were the sitters “concerns” about the dog and the reason they asked for the dog to be removed? Unless the dog was a danger to them, their behavior seems extreme. You can mention any problems in your review of the sitter.
Sounds as if you need to talk to support if you haven’t already. Am surprised they haven’t mediated and/or offered help before now as leaving pets is a massive no-no for THS sitters unless in danger? What were the previous reviews like for your sitters? Have you reported them? Do you have premium insurance? So many questions in order to help and support you a bit more @Limelight12
Presumably the sitters were from THS? I ask because there are occasionally posts on the forum that aren’t connected with this platform.
As others have said, this sounds extreme and we need to know exactly what the sitters were saying was happening with your dog. Were you honest about the behaviour of this dog? An appalling situation for you to be in and to have to cut your holiday short.
Let us know more.
@Limelight12 if this was a THS sit, have you been informing and updating member services throughout the situation - what was their advice ?
If you are a Premium member you may be able make a claim under the Sit cancellation Plan . This will cover the cost of alternative pet care. THS advises to self insure for other losses such as cost of flight tickets etc .
Note that this doesn’t cover when
“A Sitter abandons the Sit because the premises are deemed to be Unliveable.”
“Unliveable” means a pet parents premise that fails to meet the requirements outlined in Our Terms of Service. These requirements include but are not limited to, a clean and hygienic living space, no third parties present, and no dangerous pets.“
You can also write a factual review of the sitter and if you think the situation warrants it you can raise a member dispute so that THS will investigate .( include screenshots of the messages between you and the sitter ) .
All the protections above only apply if this was a confirmed sit on THS.
Hi @Limelight12
Sorry this happened to you. I guess many of us are wondering why the sitter demanded one of your dogs be removed? There appears to be a crucial part missing.
Ok, so our normal profile of sitter is either an individual or couple who do not work, usually retired. The woman of this couple stated she worked remotely. As a throw away line in then interview, she said” oh, x , he likes to go walkabout” she seemed dynamic and very professional.
It became clear during the handover that she intended to visit London to her offices on day 2. We were surprised, given its at least a two hour journey, but we reassured that x, the partner would be there.
The first of the three e mails arrived early the next day. It is peppered with commentary about “ schedule” being disrupted.
The dog/s: there is no comment that the dog/s bit snarled or were in any way behaving inappropriately. Both conform to the normal pattern of sleep, eat, walk, play, sleep etc etc. the dog singled out is young and can be boisterous, but providing the pattern is followed is calm . We feed three times a day, so the pattern provides an even rhythm.
In all other ways the animals appear to have been well cared for.
Our request to negotiate the hour of their departure so that pet care could be mustered was met with a very firm “ we leave at 9am Saturday as we have commitments in both our schedules that day.
We have used pet sitting services for over ten years and this is the first issue we have ever encountered.
Really strange that three dogs would be too many for a couple.
(I sit on my own, I don’t apply for sits with more than two dogs, but I have never had a problem walking those together. If that would not work, I could always walk them separately, I don’t have a “schedule”.)
Have you been in touch with membership services @Limelight12 and did they offer help? The whole thing sounds odd TBH as if there was an issue with them and the dogs were used as an excuse to jump ship. That’s me reading between the lines. As @Silversitters says, raise a dispute with HQ, write a factual review about their behaviour and onwards and upwards I guess. Sorry about your hols, very happy pets & home are okay. #staywell
We sit as a couple and tend to look for no more than two dogs.
Its pretty usual that they will walk badly on lead and having two dogs pulling you won’t be great.
TBH, I cannot make any sense out of this story. Why would a couple sign up for a long, multiple-dog sit at one location while they both have commitments at another location?