This would be news to THS folks, including ones who sit while telecommuting. For instance, I’ve had lunches on two continents with a longtime THS exec, while they were sitting.
More like, THS doesn’t want someone operating a service out of a hosts’ home or otherwise monetizing off the home or bringing customers to a sit home.
THS knows well that many hosts actually prefer telecommuters over other sitters, because they’re typically home more.
If THS changed their stance and drove away telecommuters, the inventory of hosts probably would decline as well.
I don’t see a problem with asking this question. Some people might be fine with it.
As long as they don’t do it without your permission, what is the big offence?
Wow. This wouldn’t even have occurred to me. 100% agree that pets should not be used for any commercial purpose by the sitters without written permission from the homeowners PRIOR to confirmation. This woud also include tik tok videos, and other “in home” activities. Geeze.
At least they were honest about their plans and you could say no.
Not exactly the same, but using a dog in business - years and years ago I found a truffle-hunting excursion in Prague. The guy running it was a PhD student in botany specializing in mushrooms and such and he had trained Nela, his weirmariner to find truffles. Not that there were any naturally occurring truffles in Prague - he planted a few the morning before the excursion. And I learned how the dog was trained. Then we had lunch - pasta with a truffle sauce and I got a thumb sized truffle to take to my airbnb to cook with. (I was headed to Copenhagen soon after and took about half the truffle with me - probably violated some law taking a truffle across a border; fortunately there were no ‘agriculture dogs’ working at the Copenhagen airport.)
I think Petr has turned it into a travel and food business and Nela the weim is still the star. If you ever sit or visit Prague - https://praguetruffle.com
We don’t think it’s that weird depending on the dog, the age & the location. A larger, older golden retriever would probably enjoy some blues music most days lying in the shade on the streets of Berlin or by the river in Richmond! Also how experienced the musicians are with busking with dogs & looking after them as they play would make a difference. Agree with members who said at least they asked. Might have been wiser to ask a repeat host who knew them better but hey, takes all sorts. #lifeislikeaboxofchocolates
In my (very) younger years, I was a busker. Your comments are interesting and I can see all points. Here’s the thing, though: it can be the best laid plans, the idea of having a cute dog come along for a few hours, BUT, in practice, said dog may not sit still long enough for one song Or if the dog is then secured to a lead, it may pull the whole setup down if it’s not a relaxed dog. Or what if it’s starting to have altercations with other visiting dogs… And there goes the vibe and enters the drama. It’s a very risky plan - a busking gig based on an unknown dog!!
The wider THS team have asked me to pass on the following:
"Although there is nothing explicit in our terms of service, we do not endorse this activity taking place during a sit.
Furthermore, we will be reaching out to the sitter in question and making it clear that if they intend to take a member’s pet busking with them, TrustedHousesitters is not the correct platform for them."
I hope this helps alleviate any concerns you’re having.
so give them another chance, with just a warning? Of course they won’t be honest with HO’s now. How could any reputable sitter even think this was ok? I would hope/expect THS to ban them (AND add this language/expectation to their policy). People like this clearly do not have the right intentions for this platform/exchange. I would be furious if someone did this with my pet. They should just be banned. Period.
I can think of all kinds of ways busking could go wrong and lead to pet harm:
(1) the activity might be against a local ordinance and if the sitters get arrested, and the animals could wind up in a public shelter.
(2) heat stroke.
(3) lost or kidnapped while the sitters are entertaining.
(4) bite someone or fight with another animal while the sitters are entertaining.
What I don’t understand is why THS wouldn’t put busking in a category along with other commercial uses of the pet – creating cute pet videos for social media, selling images of the pet for stock photos or other commercial uses, etc – and have any “commercial” use be declared a no-no without explicit written permission just like 3rd parties.
Or if the dog is then secured to a lead, it may pull the whole setup down if it’s not a relaxed dog. Or what if it’s starting to have altercations with other visiting dogs… And there goes the vibe and enters the drama. It’s a very risky plan - a busking gig based on an unknown dog!!