Sitter abandoned our dog for a night

Owner Questions, Advice & Chat
1

I’ve been using THS for three years and had mostly very positive experiences until last week. I needed a sitter for only two nights (plus a night before and after the actual sit, as I was leaving early in the morning and returning very late at night). I didn’t receive any applications from sitters with reviews on the platform, so I decided to take a chance on a first-time sitter.

I had a video call with the sitter before confirming her application: She seemed like a mature (almost 40), very friendly and responsible dog lover. I sent her my standard instructions for sitters (I don’t like the structure of the THS Welcome Guide), which specify that my dog gets his last walk of the day at 9 pm or later and his first walk by 9 am. I also request that he be allowed to sleep with the room with the sitter, as he tends to bark in the night if he’s alone in a room.

After I left for my trip, I checked my outdoor camera more often than I usually would, as our sitter was a first-timer. The first day and night seemed fine. On her second night alone with our dog, I saw that she walked the dog at 7:45 pm (i.e. over an hour earlier than specified in my instructions) and then left the house at 8:00 pm. When I woke up the next morning, I saw that she hadn’t returned to the house at all the previous night! Our dog had spent the whole night alone, for the first time in his life. The sitter also hadn’t turned on the alarm system, which I had asked her to do any time she left the house for more than a few hours.

I called my partner (who doesn’t live with me) to have him come rescue our dog; shortly after, I saw that the sitter returned to our house at about 7:15 in the morning. I decided to wait until 9 am and see what happened, as my instructions said that it’s OK to wait until 9 am for his first walk. However, according to my cameras, she still hadn’t taken him out by 9 am so I wrote her a message, asking whether he had been out that morning (giving her the benefit of the doubt in case she had just taken him through the back door into the yard). No answer. My partner arrived at 10 am and said the sitter was in her room; my suspicion is that she was sleeping after being out partying all night. At this point, it had been about 14 hours since my dog’s last walk.

During the morning I had several phone calls with THS. They told me that her actions are considered pet abandonment and that I was within my rights to ask her to leave immediately. They also said that she would probably be removed from the platform.

I wrote to her and demanded that she leave immediately; she cleared out within an hour. She never responded to any of my messages after staying out all night and never offered an explanation or an apology. Let me point out that I had provided her with a long list of people who would have been happy to help in an emergency. She could have also contacted me if there were a problem that prevented her from getting back to our house.

I see that she has still not been removed from the platform five days later. I’ve written to THS twice asking about the status of the situation but have not received any response. I would really like to make sure that she can’t use the platform to get any other sits! Any suggestions about how to get a response with an update from THS?

2

Yes file a Member Dispute. It may take a while for anything to be done as they have to assess the situation. Search the forum for how to file a member dispute. I’m sorry, I hope your dog is okay now that you’re home.

3

Please follow up with a member dispute. This is ridiculous.

On various forums (this included) I have seen sitters (who also brag about their multiple 5 star reviews) mention it’s fine to leave dogs alone all night because ‘they sleep whether we are there or not’ and they get hotel rooms overnight near shows, etc they want to attend.

Disgusting behavior to me. I hope your pup is ok after the trauma.

4

Thank you! I’ll look into how to file an official Member Dispute.

Our dog seemed fine, thank goodness. He even somehow managed to hold everything and not make a mess on the rug. But I hate to think of him alone all night, barking at every noise he heard. And who knows if and when the sitter would have got around to walking him if my partner hadn’t intervened.

5

I can’t believe sitters would actually brag about that. I don’t have a sitter come just so that my dog can spend a night alone in the end. If they don’t agree with the conditions, they shouldn’t be sitting. No one is forcing them into accepting sits.

6

Agreed. It’s gross. Fortunately (for me) the sitter who bagged about this won’t take sits in the US, or sits with external cameras (I guess we know why).

I am in the US and I have disclosed external cameras, so … safe from this sitter. Whew.

7

Sweet pup. It was just one night so give him lots of love and he’ll be ok :heart:

8

The only thing I dislike more than being spied on are sitters likè this who don’t take proper care of the pets they are looking after. Besides the impact on the pet, it allows homeowners to feel justified about spying. I am an excellent sitter but if you feel the need to spy on me, please find someone else. And if you can’t then hire a professional sitter. This whole situation makes me say ick.

9

Yes,

This is unfortunate all around.

to OP…

If you had HS removed, and are still able to write a factual review similar to what was written here, that would be enough to warn off others so long as they read.

The tricky part is if you also mention how you were monitoring, that will also warn off potential future HS. There was nothing unreasonable about your expectation but the monitoring is not something many who are actually trustworthy are comfortable with. When writing your review and even when writing your profile, I would suggest delicately fully disclosing that you have outdoor cameras (and that this was communicated). Also not sure how you knew about your alarm system not being on but maybe lead with that as the trigger that alerted you to the fact that your dog was left alone?

10

Have never seen anyone brag on this forum about leaving a dog overnight. There was one member (who had mixed reviews & no longer comments on here) who, much as you quoted, said he believed they’d sleep anyway without a human and he was fully shouted down by sitters pretty unanimously! Sorry to hear this @Rekap71 - def file the dispute. #poochloversunite

11

Yes, I remember that one sitter being drowned out by sitters and hosts who thought that no one should leave a dog overnight.

Personally, if I needed or wanted to be away overnight, I’d not sit and I’d just rent a hotel room. I consider it neglectful at best to leave a dog overnight, and it’s not why hosts look for THS sitters.

12

Well said. While I truly feel for the HO in this instance and hope the sitter gets booted from the platform the whole camera thing just confirms our decision not to take sits with external cameras.

13

@Rekap71, wow that’s a horrible experience.

To our knowledge, writing to THS will have far less impact than filing a Member Dispute.

This is a structured process with specific information/evidence. It collates information/evidence from both sides; allegations of breach of terms; assesses situation; and makes a determination that may include account termination.

It is our suspicion that the Dispute process would address your desired remediation better than standards correspondence to THS.

14

I have an app that shows me when the alarm system is turned on and off.

I don’t like “spying” on sitters either and certainly don’t do it constantly. With experienced sitters I often don’t check the cameras at all. It was really only because this woman was completely new to the platform.

15

I can’t help thinking that there’s an link between homeowners experiencing a drop in good, experienced sitters applying and having external cameras and monitoring the sitters comings and goings.

16

I think the drop is because now people know that they aren’t actually good sitters after all. If someone isn’t willing to sit due to an exterior camera, I’d assume they aren’t going to do what was agreed to and I don’t want them sitting either.

17

Can you review the sit? Giving her a one store review and explaining exactly what happened would give homeowners a warning even THS doesn’t do the right thing.

18

I doubt it. I’d consider myself a good sitter. I know that outdoor cameras are the norm in many places and don’t care. I still apply and get great sits.

19

It bothers me that she abandoned the dog and THS doesn’t care. It is like that article about the thieves. What were they doing on the platform? If it is true that with the sudden rise of outdoor cameras and complaints about sitters, maybe many were not as good as originally reviewed and now the site is coming under serious review. It only takes one bad sitter for a HO to go off the platform.

20

Yes, I’ll review her now, although I would much prefer to see her removed from the site!