Had my 5th sit that ended before it started. I arrived at 4 pm the night before
and left at 12 noon next day. The next day I must have said something that triggered her as she started yelling and screaming at me and wouldn’t stop. She told me to leave. She then lunged at me with her husband holding her back. I was in shock. We are both senior citizens.
I have never been around physical violence in my life. I was in shock as I quickly packed. Walking out the house she followed me out and continued to yell at me while I put my things in the car . Her husband was holding her back as she was still trying to get to me. I drove 4 hours home shaking all the way. I expected a text from the husband of an apology. Never came. I put in a complaint to Trusted Housesitters as I think she is dangerous to remain on The platform. They have 7 good reviews and I have 6. He then lied to Trusted Housitters changing the story what happened, I learned I should have taken out my video camera. I was shaking and not from that generation to record everything. My goal was to leave quickly for my safety. In her rage she could have really hurt me.
As you know sitters have a background check done but homeowners do not. Trusted Housesitters was wonderful with calls to me and responding to everything I wrote. I have to commend them. They were in a tough situation as it turned into a he said she said situation. I think their decision of letting us both remain on the site and monitor other sits we both have in the future was the only outcome they could have made.
Anyone else ever been physically assaulted or close to it at a sit?
(Edited to remove personal information shared about another member as per the forum posting terms)
Hello @Peri I’m so sorry this happened to you, this is not something that I have come across before so thank you for sharing your experience. I’m glad THS supported you, and I hope that some of our members can share stories of how they handled similar challenging situations to help provide a good outcome.
What a horrible experience for you @Peri. What date did the sit start or was it cancelled by THS as you may be able to leave a review which would be so beneficial for future sitters? I’m very pleased to read THS was supportive of you.
So sorry you had to go through that. I wouldn’t be surprised if this is the same homeowner who has been mentioned here previously.
Regarding your comments above, I am afraid I don’t agree. As the sit wasn’t completed there is no way to leave a review to warn other sitters.
While ever the homeowners remain on the site it sounds like an accident waiting to happen. What would have been the outcome if the husband hadn’t been there?
I hope you regain the confidence to sit again and once you feel able I would definitely raise an official complaint with THS. They have a duty of care to investigate.
What a traumatic experience for you. It is good to know that you are unharmed and that were able to receive a degree of support from THS.
I have had a couple of situations…
Edited by Me to protect my own personal information.
TH edited out pertinent medical information that thought was too personal about the female host that would partly explain why she was in a rage. Yes I did leave a review on their profile and to the credit of Trusted Housesitters they posted it exactly as I wrote it. He did not leave a review on mine for the less than 24 hour stay there but wrote paragraphs in response to my post. He wrote it at the last minute knowing I could not dispute his non truths as time period has ended. I have moved on and will let Karma handle things forward. I just hope other people who stay there are safe. I think the male host lied about the situation to continue to receive free help. What they want you to do that they don’t tell you about till after you arrive would be considered special needs pets. They want you to wipe the cat’s butt with a wet wipe every time it goes number 2, I kid you not.
Am I the only one who can’t make sense of what happened here? I would like to understand what was really going on. Somehow I find it hard to believe what was said without context.
TH won’t let me tell you about the medical issues which would explain her rage to some degree. She also did not like me. One of her cats is morbidly obese. I asked her what the vet thought of his weight. She said any vet that says he is too fat, I just fire them and get another one. Then she kept saying, you are not going to feed my cat because you think he is too fat. I said I am the pet sitter and will feed the cat according to your instructions. Hours later I said something else innocently and that’s when she started her rage.
I also don’t think she wanted to attend her husband’s family reunion in another country. They were suppose to leave at 11am. At 11:15 she was not dressed and declared she could not find her passport. Then her husband found it. Then she said she feels sick. They have no children. She told me her sister won’t talk to her and her brother won’t visit. I think seeing the closeness he has with his family would have been painful for her. She got to use me as a scapegoat for not going when she yelled at me to leave. That was very selfish of her not thinking about the happiness of her husband.
I also found it surprising that there was no emergency number for me to call. All other pet parents had at least one neighbor’s number or a family number. She only had the vet’s number. I asked for a number in case of emergency and she said just knock on one of the neighbor’s door.
I think this is very serious and would like to know if there is information in your review about the violence. Other sitters should be warned. No one else should go through a situation like this.
I can’t believe what I’m reading that these people are still members and potentially able to do the same thing again or worse.
Do THS not have a duty of care to its members?
I wanted to jump in to reassure everyone, as having questions on such a concerning topic is natural.
I reached out to Membership Services and can see an ongoing investigation by the complaints team. The owner’s membership was temporarily suspended pending the investigation.
The complaints team are still investigating and in touch with the members.
@Peri Please keep an eye out for your emails as I can see that the complaints team has been in contact with you and they last contacted you earlier today.
I left a review to warn other pet sitters. I told exactly what happened on their page so all of you will see it if considering them. She would not do this to a couple as one person protects the other and there is also a witness. I don’t think she would do it to a man. It’s only women traveling alone that need to be concerned.
I disagree, Have you submitted an official complaint (not just a regular email or call)? This really does need investigating, for the sake of future sitters.
THS won’t allow me to disclose certain information that I was told by the female host that may help people understand why she went crazy. No excuse for her behavior but I respect THS for protecting personal information. Both of us are paid customers although one is clearly dangerous.
