Here’s a draft of the review.
My husband says it’s way too detailed and I should just leave low stars and say it was very difficult and we don’t recommend it. I’m afraid that something minimal and quiet would invite the host to place blame on us for her dogs getting into our food. I think the sum of the details speaks about the entire situation rather than singling one or two details out.
I welcome everyone’s thoughts on this. I edited it so as not to reveal the host’s or the dogs or the town’s name.
“”""First, the positives:
A and B are super sweet, gentle affectionate dogs.
Host is kind and empathetic.
The house is beautiful, the bedroom is spacious, and the bed is comfortable.
Town is a wonderful place, a little village of friendly neighbors.
But in 20-plus years of our dog sitting experience, this was by far the most challenging sit we have ever done.
Host told us that the dogs are very persistent about stealing food, and warned us to keep all of our food in closed boxes or cabinets and to push the chairs in whenever we’re not using the table.
There was only a tiny bit of cabinet space available for our food, so we kept it in a closed plastic storage bin.
On the first day we went out to get groceries and came back to find the dogs had chewed into our storage bin and eaten a lot of our food, including an unknown quantity of raisins, which can be toxic to dogs.
As a result, we had to take both dogs 35 minutes over a mountain road to the 24 hour emergency vet in City. We stayed awake keeping vigil in the waiting room until we left at dawn. A stayed a second night.
This was harrowing, extremely stressful and exhausting for Host, A and B, and the two of us.
When we went back the following evening to pick A up, B was alone in the house for a couple of hours and got into the recycling, tore it to pieces, left it all around the house and jumped up on the dining table and chewed a candle.
Fortunately, both dogs are OK.
You can’t leave ANY food out ANYWHERE for even the shortest amount of time.
We replaced our food box and kept in our bedroom, with the bedroom door closed at all times.
The whole experience left us hypervigilant and unable to completely relax for the rest of the sit.
It’s obvious that Host absolutely adores both dogs. But there’s a disconnect between that love and the care they are getting.
I cut quite a bit of matted fur off of both dogs.
The veterinarian said that A is severely underweight.
The outdoor garden space has at least a year’s worth of dog poop that has not been picked up.
We pulled a bunch of foxtail weeds out of the backyard; these can get into dogs paws, ears, noses and genitals and cause a lot of pain and infection.
A needs prescription eye drops for optical pannus but when we did the handover and Host started to demonstrate how to administer them, she discovered that both bottles were empty. So the whole time we were there A did not get her eye medicine.
In the “Responsibilities” section of the listing, Host says that neither of the dogs are completely trained. That’s an understatement.
They’re both smart, treat motivated, and eager to please, but they’re really not trained at all. B isn’t even house trained; when we took him out for a little walk and a potty break before bedtime, he still soiled the house overnight. He does not ask to be let out.
The house wasn’t very clean when we arrived, so we cleaned it to make ourselves comfortable. We definitely left it cleaner than we found it.
There’s a lot of deferred maintenance on the house. The front door cannot be locked from the outside which didn’t bother us but might be a deal-breaker for some sitters.
It was depressingly dark when we arrived because there were a lot of burned out light bulbs; it was much brighter and cheerier after we replaced them.
The written instructions were inconsistent and incomplete. A previous sitter told Host the instructions were too complicated, so Host said she rewrote the instructions using AI. But the AI instructions weren’t complete so she tried to print out the old instructions but the printer jammed and they were incomplete too.
THE INSTRUCTIONS DID NOT HAVE THE VETERINARIAN’S NAME AND PHONE NUMBER!!
A is a tri-pawed (3 legged) dog who gets 2 anxiety medications. B is a recent adoptee. Both dogs need a lot of attention and care and would thrive in a consistent situation, but there has been a revolving door of sitters every month or so for the past 3 years.
Again, I absolutely believe in my heart that Host loves these dogs to the moon and back. Maybe she’s overwhelmed with work and dog and house care.
The trust in Trusted Housesitters goes beyond the host and the sitter. There should also be trust between sitters leaving honest reviews of their experiences and that doesn’t always happen. None of the previous reviews prepared us for this.
This was a heartbreaking sit. We tried to do the best we could for A and B given the situation.
I am sorry to say that we do not recommend this sit until Host has had some time to recenter and take care of herself, the dogs, and her home.
She told us she wants to stay home more and travel less.
A and B will be overjoyed 
"“”"
. Accuracy of listing: 3