As a sitter I am sorry to read your Cat needed to go to the Vets and that clearly did not happen, glad it’s on the mend.
Sorry your Dog really needed the Loo, idk all the details however if there was neighbours who could have come and let the Dog out to do it’s business, there’s no excuse, regardless of how sick you are (I have been on sits where the HO said "they’re fine for 6hours, I always introduce us to the Neighbours where ever possible as soon as we get to a sit, I asked the neighbour to pop if the couple of times we were out for a day trip and it could have been more than 4hours to let the Dogs out and run around for a bit)
As a sitter, It may seem like I ask too many questions and want to know where the Water, Sewer, Gas and Electrics are, we have been caught out too many times in our early sitter days not knowing where one utility was and there was a problem. I explain this to the HO, I am not being nosy, I just need to make sure if something goes wrong and trust me, if it is going to, it will while you are away, I dont’ need to be trying to call you on the other side of the World about what to do, I want you to have a lovely holiday not worrying about your home and beloved pets and I as a sitter also don’t want a nightmare sit waiting for timezones and what to do next. It’s the same as rooms that are not for sitters, quite often the master bedroom, however I explain again, if it’s snowing, I will be going into your Ensuite to check the plumbing is okay, so turning the taps on, flushing the loo, in each room even if they are not rooms we are using, the same for outside, just because the pool/spa is not in use, or the fish pond pump, I check these. We still get caught out. We had a new sit this year, the HO we not available while overseas, there was little or no coverage and they didn’t want to be disturbed, they left us with a CP for any emergencies, I asked prior to handover where all the utilities were, they had to check, they mentioned they had never had any problems, I laughed and said, “if it’s going to happen, it will while you are away” oh it did! I ripped into our Teen Son “How did you use all the Hot water” he didn’t bless him, he could not have, the fuse had tripped for no apparent reason and bless him he had had the last shower before the hot water ran out, it had tripped 2 days earlier, I thought the Water was not as Hot, however it was a new sit and we were only 3 days into the sit, so didn’t pay too much attention to how quickly the water got hot in different area’s of the home. anyways.
The Sitter if they offered to get the items out of the boiler cupboard should have done it, end of.
The Sitter should have communicated very clearly with you the Cat was poorly and needed to see the Vet and they then should have arranged for this to happen.
The Sitter being sick and leaving a scribbled note, I can understand they were sick, they might have been at the mercy of public transport, idk, they should have communicated with you, even if you were flying, you would get the message when you get off the plane, they should have let a neighbour know or put a note through their letter boxes, “I am really sick, I have to leave, HO is due home …, I have messaged them, however they are flying, can you please let the Dog out for it’s business as soon as you get this message, I have also left the same note with the other neighbours, sorry and thankyou” and they should have messaged you and told you they had done this and then touched base with you later in the day when you were home.
We are not all like this, though I will say it does seem from the forum there are quite a few Sitters who are not suitable for sitting.
Wishing you all the best for future sitters.
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Update! THS have now completed their investigations and have permanently removed the sitter from the platform. I would like to thank everyone who gave help and sympathy at what was a difficult time. The house is almost back to normal, as is our dog, and our cat is responding well to treatment. I’ve been impressed with the way THS handled this case, contacting (or trying to) both sides and keeping me informed throughout. Thanks again. Most of your comments were really helpful.
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Thank you for the update @KaitK .
Glad to know that your pets are recovering and that after this sitter was been given the opportunity to give their side of the story to THS it seems a fair outcome that they have been removed from the platform.
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