I am pet parent. I had a medical emergency and have been in the hospital for 9 days. The doctor told me I had to postpone my international travel fore two weeks. This caused me to cancel and relist my pet sit. The sitter was very mad and wants me to pay for the unplanned expenses she is having during the gap. She is NOT a premium member so she has is in a bad situation. What should I do?
Hi @radarmt
So sorry to hear about your medical emergency - I hope you’re recovering well.
I’ve updated the title of your post a little, just so that members have more context, so hopefully someone will pop on with some advice for you.
It might help to let us know how much notice you were able to give the sitter, and what kind of expenses they are asking for reimbursement of, and any other relevant details.
Have you spoken to Membership Services directly about the situation? I can put you in touch with them if that would help!
Jenny 
I told the pet sitter the moment the doctor told me on Tuesday this week. That gave her a six day notice. She hasn’t detailed the expenses yet. I did rebook with her and i will meet her for dinner to get to know her in a few days. No i haven’t contacted member services. And yes i would like to get in touch with them. I am trying to understand the basic protocol in a situation like this. thanks so much
You’re not obligated to pay a sitter back anything and it isn’t your fault she doesn’t have premium. It’s also a medical emergency so that’s life and is tough on you too. That said, it’s nice to help if you can. Are you in an area that has lots of sits so she might find a replacement? Is there anyone you know with a spare room that could host her for a few days as a fall safe ? How long was your sit for? Is host a sister active where you are as that could also be a back up idea? Getting mad with you isn’t going to help her cause. We’ve had cancellations for medical emergencies on the sit start day on an international sit and just had to suck it up. Please talk to MS for support & get better soon. #planbagain
I’ll send you a DM in a few minutes @radarmt - and hopefully our lovely members can give some advice in the meantime.
I am fairly new so i dont know the answers to most of your questions. The sit is just short of 6 months. So I thought she would be more understanding since she will be in a stable sit for a long period of time.
We were thinking of offering to pay for the cost of upgrading to a premium membership for her and letting her consume any of the supplies we have in the house. Like canned goods and paper products etc.
Wow! That’s a long sit. Where are you based? You could upgrade her to premium as a nice gesture but it won’t help with cancellation cover for this. If it’s 6 months she may be better just rethinking the whole destination thing and going elsewhere? Was she flying or driving to you? It’s again nice to give her consumables but probably the main thing she’ll need to do is find alternative accommodation for that long. There are often FB pages for house sits plus Nomador, Mind My House etc depending on location. As a sitter you have to have a plan B and be resourceful. 6 months is plenty of time to find another idea. #IMHO
she has confirmed the sit for the balance of 6 months. she is just in a bad situation right now for two weeks.
she is from Tulsa where i live. So the sit is perfect to be with family and friends.
@radarmt Very sorry to hear of your medical emergency and hope all will be well for you soon.
If your sitter is from the same place where you live and has family and friends there then it would seem she has people she can stay with for the few weeks before you are able to go away.
6 months is a very long sit. I hope it works out well for you both.
I would not want to use this sitter at all if she was “very mad” about you having a medical emergency. I know that you are looking for a sitter for a very long period, which makes it difficult to find someone else. However, that also means that she will be in your house for a long time and she doesn’t sound very compassionate or caring. Hopefully you will get a different impression from her when/if you meet for dinner.
@radarmt so it’s a two-week delayed start on a six-month sit in an area that the sitter is from and has family and friends. It’s seems like she could work out something with those family and friends to cover two weeks. She could have a little more compassion for your medical emergency rather than being mad (red flag).
@radarmt you do not have an obligation to help the sitter, you cancelled for very good reason, your health comes first, that’s your priority. If you weren’t still planning on taking your trip, that would be it… end of story… done. But that isn’t happening here, you still need a sitter for the majority of 6 months.
You aren’t going to magic up a great pet sitter that has a free diary for a 6 month period at such short notice.
Do you have a plan of what are you going to do if she feels so awkward, she backs out of the new dates once she’s realised how much she will be out of pocket if she helps you… when she sits for free.
If you don’t have a back up plan, you need to work with her, are you sure she was mad, and not just feeling gutted to be in this situation… bed-less? She has agreed to return to care for your pets, so surely she must be a decent person, or she would have said no to your new dates straight away, because while you’ve got a 100% bonafide reason to cancel, it was a 6 month long sit, and only 6 days notice, and your sitter has no bed/roof.
It’s probably triggered natural panic in your sitters mind, as she does not have a bed or roof until those dates come around, because she’s highly unlikely to find another sit that exactly matches the void has left at such short notice, without it interfering with your new dates, and therefore adding more complication to her current situation, because it then affects your new dates.
Paying to upgrade her to premium does not help her right now, it’s too late.
If you have a spare bedroom, could you let her stay? She could help you with the pets while you’re recovering? If not, could she sleep on your sofa? If not, do you have a friend with a RV, spare bed, etc?
If I am being totally honest, your sitter may come to the conclusion that it’s easiest for her to simply not sit for you, so she can get a last minute sit for longer elsewhere. Especially if she doesn’t want to rely on friends or family for a bed.
It’s only the fact you still need a sitter, that I’m saying to help her if you are able. If it wasn’t for that, I’d say cancel the sit, you owe her nothing because you have good reason, and that is that.
Thanks for your feedback. I am having her over for dinner tonight. So i think i can smooth things over and help her in a way that seems fair an equitable. I asked talk to her when i sent her the message about the medical emergency. She asked me what i was going to do to help her. I asked to talk to her and she ignored me. I reposted the sit with new dates and she accepted them. She said she would absorb the unexpected expenses of the delay. I will let you all know what i learn tonight. Thanks again..
@radarmt, welcome to THS Forum. Sorry to hear of medical emergency. Hope that you’re ok.
Great comments by other Forum members.
We’d take a stronger view. If either a Pet Parent or Housesitter has a medical emergency then the last thing that they need is a ‘very mad’ stranger that demands attention nevermind compensation. Subjective but we think it shows poor character.
Her getting mad is a red flag just saying. Even if you can smooth things over it should not be necessary to do this.
Hello everyone! Dinner went well and she was fine. She said she overreacted to the changed and has plenty of family and friends to hangout with for the next two weeks. It feels ok at this point. Thanks for all your input! Brazil here i come for six months.
That’s a really positive outcome @radarmt - thank you so much for keeping us updated!
Fantastic, that’s great news