I’d cancel the sit based on them lying about their dog’s health.
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We asked the pet parent to cancel the sit, since she had failed to disclose the health issues of the older dog. She read the messages but did not action the cancellation request so I contacted Customer Care, sent them the evidence and they manually cancelled the sit.
We’re currently caring for an elderly dog with known health issues plus anxiety and he’s had a severe event during this long sit, necessitating vet intervention and home nursing (due to his anxieties). It’s a big responsibility and very worrying (communication with the pet parents has been effective and they’re returning home early because of this). We don’t want to take on another risky case for some time, and especially not over Christmas.
Now we’re in a bit of a panic, but hopeful we’ll find another sit.
Thanks, all. 
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Thank you for the update @Happypets . Totally understand and think we would have done the same thing if put in a similar situation by the homeowner . It’s good to hear that member services were understanding and supportive of your decision . Glad to know that in light of this new information , THS acted promptly to cancel the sit on your behalf . This is how THS member services should work .
I am sure you will find a replacement sit as there are so many Christmas sits listed without applications , so no need to panic . The next homeowners will be very grateful to have you apply for their sit .
Please let the forum know when you get a replacement sit .
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Never been asked for my home address even when I went to ho 5 times in one year…probably they could have found out but I am not going to give that out .
I would see this question as a red flag, I would ask for another quick call pre sit where you can ask why they would need this information. Written communication can be misconstrued so a call can be kept light . Unless there is a good reason for the request I would ask to be released from the sit commitment. We interview the hosts often as we have had 1 nightmare sit and one that was problematic, so we generally interview the hosts 
.
We have done over 20 sits and are now thinking we will let our membership lapse next year as we are not happy with THS anymore.
Once a sit moves to a promising state (before even being confirmed), I always give HOs my full name, email address and phone number, so they can easily get in touch for further details, organise a call etc. My THS profile also has the link to my LinkedIn profile.
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As a pet parent, I always ask for full name and address of a stranger who will be staying in my home in charge of everything I own and my pet. I think it is the bare minimum amount of information that someone in that position should not be shy of sharing. I make this known in the interview. If someone were to have a problem with that, it would be a red flag for me.
In your case with the unknown address, I can see how the pet parent might want a backup address. If the situation were different, then it would be too much and unnecessary.
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I’ve done 30 sits and have never been asked for an address. I always provide phone number and email and no one has ever asked for anything else.
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I did a pet sit where the person was going out of country and I was traveling from my state to theirs, I was pet sitting for 3 weeks. She wanted my address and phone and an emergency contact for me as well, which I totally thought was smart. What if something happened to me while I was sitting at her home or visa versa…I never looked at it as an invasion of my privacy but more a “cover our bases” just in case thing.
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Full names, yes.
And I know some people will ask for insurance information which seems reasonable but asking for next of kin unless it’s from an emergency contact perspective seems a bit odd to me (and if it were, I would expect that to be disclosed and also to have been requested right at the start.) seems a bit strange to pose such a personal request now especially if they did not provide reasoning.
Also, tons of HS are nomads 100% of the time so not sure why you waiting for a home to close would matter.
When I am looking for a new sitter I have within hours or a day 5 sitters applying.
Who comes in my house gives me a copy of his passport and his address. If there is actually no address than I will ask for the address of the place where the residency is.
In return the sitter has my full name and adress and inside view in my private home.
There is absolutely no discussion.
In the past two different sitters didn’t give me there address although I was asking for it. Both times I didn’t ask again and leave it like this. Both sits have been awful and I had in both sits after some time no confidence.
If a sitter doesn’t want to give the own address there is allways something strange about them, allways. This is my experience.
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@Coclico, just curious if you are willing to provide a copy of your ID too. Sitters are also taking a huge risk going to a complete stranger’s home. Typically, HOs know far more about me than I know about them. I personally, would not provide a copy of my ID. If someone wants to see it when I arrive to check that I’m who I say I am, that’s fine. And again, that should work both ways.
There are lots of sitters on here that are traveling full-time and don’t have a permanent residence. I’ve done 30 sits so far and all my reviews are 5 star. No one has asked for my ID or for my address since neither is necessary. THS has already verified my ID and done a criminal background check on me. They have not done this vetting on homeowners, I just have to trust.
You can certainly have your own requirements for sitters you select. Just make sure you clearly state those requirements in your listing, so you don’t waste the time of sitters who aren’t willing to agree to those requirements.
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@Coclico having been a full time sitter for a long time now - this is really very odd behaviour and way out of the ordinary. Not a single host has ever demanded copies of our passports or address - we have volunteered driving licence information for car insurance when necessary but aside from that your reasoning is purely authoritarian to try to remain in control.
I really hope new sitters reading this would realise that this is not acceptable and would turn down such a demand.
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@Coclico I’m puzzled by what you feel you gain by requiring a copy of a sitter’s passport and their address. As an owner there is an obvious reason why the sitter needs your address. However, you having a sitter’s address seems irrelevant. I would certainly not provide my passport and have never been asked for my address. If I am flying to a sit, I provide a copy of my flight reservation. I have to wonder what you do if your sitters don’t even have a passport.
You appear to be painting all sitters with the same brush, based on two negative experiences. If you reflect back you may see red flags for those two sits that you are not taking into consideration. With 50+ glowing reviews/references, I can assure you there is nothing strange about me. However, I do look for and expect trust when agreeing to a sit.
If you read many posts on the forum, and look at the volume of sits with low applications, you may realize that many who previously had no problem getting applicants are now sometimes struggling. If that’s not the case for you then that’s good, but that may not continue. Times have changed.
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When an HO comes with ultimate demands like this, there is a good chance that the sit will be awful. That is my experience.
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Unfortunately we feel the same as many sitters on here @Coclico - as full time sitters with many successful sits under our belt all over the world, we’ve never been asked for our passport or our home address, it’s none of the HOs business to have either. If they’re not comfortable during the video call and haven’t asked pertinent questions that ensure they TRUST their trusted house sitter then best not to go any further….
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@Coclico Your request smacks of distrust.
We are fully nomadic sitters (for the last 12 years!) So giving you a home address would literally be a mailing address where we do not live! However we now have 86 5* reviews from hosts who trusted us despite not having a fixed address! If that’s not enough for you nothing will be!
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Note: Even if you ask a sitter to give you an address, how do you know it’s the real deal? I mean, if you’re not trusting, where does that end? Require an official document or a utility bill? That’s to highlight that asking for an address is actually a false sense of security unless you go to even greater extremes, which will certainly turn off even more potential sitters.
Personally, I will pass on sits with distrustful hosts, because they’re more likely to require hand holding and/or involve some other pains in the butt. And when it comes to doing voluntary sits on THS, who needs unnecessary complications? Maybe it’s worthwhile to some hosts, but certainly less worthwhile to most sitters. Why: There are countless sits available with hosts who are easier to deal with. To me, there’s no sit / location that’s worth unnecessary complications. I’d rather not sit at all than deal with such hosts.
And it’s worth considering that the best sitters have the greatest choice of sits, so it’s easier for them to avoid such hosts. That means such hosts can actually end up with riskier sitters.
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Even though I have never asked any sitters about their address or passport/ID, I can understand home owners, who feel better getting that information.
Actually I would have no problem with doing so were I a sitter.
What is the problem with showing an ID? I understand that it doesn’t make sense with fully nomadic living people, but there are also sitters with a physical address and if this would mean that I gave the home owner a peace of mind, why not provide it?
Yes, THS is about trust but I feel that many sitters don’t understand that it goes both ways. They know who I am including my last name and address, because they live in my house for a certain time. They could find out a lot more by browsing through my papers, which I don’t hide. Most probably won’t care about that but not all. So why not do the same and just give your last name and, if there is any, your address? I just don’t get it.
As I said I never asked but nearly all my sitters gave me their last names voluntarily. One couple even gave me their website address to prove that they are who they claim to be, also voluntarily in their application.
I expect the last name, phone number and email of my house/pet sitter. I’ve never asked for insurance information since I carry homeower’s insurance. It would never occur to me to ask for personal information about their family members unless those people were going to be in my home. Wonder what sparked all this for the homeowner. Maybe something went wrong with a previous sit.