Is it normal that HO left inside camera that should follow the dogs but actually followed us as well? In one week we turned it off cuz we didn’t feel ok with that.
But the HO started to do other things.
Is it ok that HO sent her daughter to check on us and then sent some friends again without any notice?
What should we do in this case?
I wanted cancel on the sit because of that but still feel responsibility for pets and now I feel very stressed because of privacy issues.
Internal cameras and any monitoring devices inside the home are not permitted on THS
and there is also a third party policy .
You can Contact member services on the urgent support phone line which is on your dashboard .
If you feel that you need to leave then you must give the owners sufficient time to make alternative arrangements for their pets . That the owners daughter is living close by is in your favour - close enough to check on you and therefore close enough to take care of the pets either temporarily or until they return home or make other arrangements.
Start with advising the owners that internal monitoring devices are not permitted that is why you have turned it off . You do not want third parties to come and check on you. If they don’t trust you - / don’t stop coming round you will leave and they can find someone else to take care of their pets .
Firstly, I’m a HO but I’d put a sticker over the lens because, and forgive me if I’m wrong, it’s against the rules and message the HO to let them know but reassure them that the animals are perfectly happy.
Visitors……well, I’d probably just be pleasant and reassure them that everything’s ok and again contact the HO via text sending a pic of the animals explaining how nice it’s been to meet ??.?.. and the pets are fine.
They sound a little insecure to me. Some people seem to forget they’re not paying for you to look after their pet and should be grateful/thankful/relieved someone wants to FOR NOTHING!
They’ve breached the conditions of THS, if they let you know beforehand then that would be totally different, as we’ve had family pop around before but we’ve known about it, so it was totally fine with us. So on this occasion and given her daughter obviously lives close by, I’d consider leaving (and we’ve never left anywhere before).
Are they new to THS?
It must take a lot of trust to hand over your loved pets and one of your biggest assets to total strangers. That said, I would not put up with internal cameras and it is one of the very first questions I ask. If they have them, I ask for them to be switched off.
People popping in to see how you’re doing? Mmmmm. A very strange practice. Are you giving them daily updates with pictures? I would think that was enough. This is another question I’ve started asking, if, when and how would they like updates. Sometimes it’s not possible as they may be away somewhere remote with no WiFi or phone signal but I try to comply with what they need. Message them and ask if they could please give you notice of random people turning up. Try to reassure them that everything is going ok and you are coping. The people that are turning up, be pleasant and reassure them as well. My greatest fear on this is I might have had a late night the night before and was up late, the dishes weren’t done and the cushions weren’t fluffed up. But then again, is the house in show room condition when they live there?
Before a sit, I try to build a relationship with the owner, chatty messages asking them questions about the dogs routine and things about their property - things that could probably wait till I got there but just enough to reassure them we are going to turn up and be competent.
I feel like a broken record but communication makes THS work.
I’m so sorry you’ve encountered these issues. Please mention this part of the experience in your review as it will put other sitters on notice they need to query the HO before accepting a sit invitation.