HO's travel got cancelled but they kept their petsit commitment to us-Hooray!

Sometimes we see posts on here saying that the HO or the pet-sitter cancelled without good reason. I just wanted to let people know that there are HO’s who could have cancelled but kept their commitment to the petsit dates. I had a sit last week and upon meeting with the homeowners so that they could show us around the beautiful acreage, I found out that their travel plans got cancelled at the last minute. They could have cancelled on us but they didn’t. They took their camper and went to a local campsite just to keep their commitment to us. I’ve had a couple HO’s cancel on us this year and it’s a disappointing feeling but a situation like this just proves there are also people of integrity. Just had to share

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@IHeartAnimals Thank you so much for sharing this experience! As a sitter myself it is lovely and reassuring to hear how great our community is. We nearly had one last-minute cancellation but then the sit did go ahead and we had one sit where the dates were cut short by several days so we needed to stay in a hotel, so I understand how disappointing it can feel.
Unexpected things do happen, but how wonderful that they decided to just go away in a different form and the sit could go ahead as planned.
I hope you had a lovely time there :slight_smile:

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We had an amazing time there. They even purposely came back early to say goodbye to us and give my kids some gifts. I can see now how some petsitters and HO’s become friends over this platform

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@IHeartAnimals That is such a fantastic ending! I hope you all stay in touch :smiling_face:

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What wonderful people you’ve encountered! May the good vibes keep reverberating.

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This is not unusual. I’ve had the same experience twice. I also had, what would have been, my first Australian housesit cancelled in March 2020 because of the pandemic. It was to be a 3 week sit and the owner told me I’d be very welcome to stay as I was expecting to. It was a very generous offer but I didn’t think it would be a good idea so long with people I didn’t know and 3 children! Just as well I declined as would have been locked in, but flew back to the UK just in time.

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We had a similar situation for a sit in Cyprus. One HO had a health scare that needed follow up treatment. Instead of cancelling they booked an AirBnB and just told us when we arrived. We felt badly but they said that they would be nearer to the hospital and they would be able to do the treatments without worrying about getting their dog out for walks. We were very grateful since it was one of the few sits for which we had booked travel specifically.

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How lovely and thanks for sharing! I have not had good experiences so far and am hoping that changes. :blush:

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We had a sit cancelled where the elderly cat sadly died a week before the sit was due to start. The home hosts offered that we were still welcome to go and stay at the house whilst they were on holiday.

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@IHeartAnimals this is so lovely and thank you for sharing your experience :slightly_smiling_face:

It is true, we make many wonderful friends through TrustedHousesitters :heart::blush:

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I would just like to add my thanks to @IHeartAnimals for sharing the experience and to the pet parent/owner for being kind and thoughtful as @Carla says

Safe and happy travels

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I’m both a petsitter and a homeowner on this site so understand both sides well. A few years ago a friend and I had a 2 week vacation planned in Montreal, Canada. About 3 weeks before our trip, my friend fell and broke her shoulder so we had to cancel. We live in opposite sides of California.

The petsitters coming to my house were on a fairly tight schedule and I knew that it would throw a wrench in their plans so I decided to fly up to Northern CA instead and help my friend during her recovery. It wasn’t a vacation for me, but my friend appreciated the help, and the petsitters got to keep on schedule.

I kept thinking about Montreal, though, as I really wanted to go there. Right before Covid, I applied and was selected to take care of two entertaining diva sister cats in a lovely home directly across from Le Parc Fontaine. It was a wonderful trip.

All is well that ends well.



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@ShulasMom What a lovely story - not that your friend got injured and you missed your trip, but that you helped your friend out in a time of need and your sitters still got to keep to their schedule and sit for you. Plus I am so pleased that it all ended with you managing later on to get to visit Motreal!

What a great reminder of that saying!

Thank you for sharing :heart_eyes_cat:

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@ShulasMom thanks for sharing your story. You’re a good friend and I’m glad to made it to Montreal. Our family went last last fall plus Quebec city and it’s beautiful there

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Nice to see a positive experience.

We’ve been extremely lucky and only had one HO cancel, and that was already one month into a 6 week sit and it was because they had an accident.

Regardless, I always look at sits as a blessing.

One of my friends said it well and I’ll paraphrase.

“No one is out to get you, they’re just thinking of themselves.”

I’m glad your HO decided to take their holiday as it probably served you all well.

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@ShulasMom thank you for sharing and the lovely photos too and as Carla says “What a great reminder of the saying” which actually happens more often that we know.

Thank you @Jamie-and-Brady for also reminding us that sharing the positive is great to see and our community has many, many, many of those experiences to share, appreciating these positive moments and experiences will hopefully encourage more.

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@IHeartAnimals thanks for sharing your positive experience.

This shows how well it works out when both sitters and HOs abide by the THS code of conduct, even when it involves some sacrifices on their part .

Reminding me of the golden rule
“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

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Yes absolutely

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