Hi, I have just had a sitter cancel on us during the sit, with about 2 weeks left on tthe two month sit. We are in another country (Spain) and this has been extremely disruptive both for us and for the pets. Our sitter was selected from a list of prospective sitters and we we happy to confirm her for this long sit. All was going well but unfortunately, just after a month into the sit, she was hospitalized with a acute appendicitis and had to have emergency surgery. We were notified and proceeded to re-home the dog and a neighbor took care of the cat while she was hospitalized. When she was discharged, recognizing that she would have difficulty walking the dog post-surgery, we organized for a dog walker go come 3 x a day to walk her until our sitter felt well enough. She was convalescing well and said she could walk the dog herself after she had the stitches removed. During this time, a cousin of hers came and stayed in our home to help out (I would have preferred him too arranging for other accommodations and assisting her on a daily basis, but we thought this would be helpful as she had already mentioned wanting to leave, encouraged by her mother whose anxieties and fears was transmitted to her daughter who began to have doubts and stress about continuing the sit. 2 week before the sit was scheduled to end, she announced that she was going to go back home with her sister who had come to assist her (also staying in our home). We had less than a week to re-organized the pets, re-home our dog (again) and all this thanks to the generosity of neighbors and friends who have pitched in to help. I wrote to TH about this very unusual situation and they offered to help me find another sitter since this is against their policy. But this wasnāt an option because there would be no one to welcome him/her and the guest room needed to be cleaned before allowing someone else to stay there. I told our sitter she was putting us in a very difficult situation and weād hoped that all of our efforts would have allowed her to finish the sit, not to mention the extra loads of laundry, extra hot water for showers, etcā¦No offer was made to contribute. She actually accused me of being āinsensitiveā and she had airline tickets to return home with her family member so her decision was final.
This has been a very difficult sit for us and honestly Iām glad the uncertainty is over. I have never had a sitter cancel during the course of the sit. Has this happened to anyone else?
I would consider emergency surgery to be a valid reason for ending a sit.
I think it would have been better for everyone if she hadnāt returned to sit for you given her emergency surgery. Always have a plan b ready.
@Val_Sco emergencies can happen to anyone sitters and hosts - this will inevitably disrupt plans .
We are sitters and twice the hosts had emergencies whilst on holiday (one had a serious illness and had to return home early from their 6 weeks cruise for further treatment . Another had a fall , broke their ankle and suffered from concussion and therefore couldnāt continue with their trek along the silk route ) . As a result of these unfortunate events the hosts had to curtail the sit because they were returning home early . This meant that we had to adapt quickly when the sit ended early and go to our Plan B .
This naturally did disrupt our plans , however we understood that these emergency can happen to anyone at anytime .
Abdominal surgery seems like an exceptional circumstance and if the sitter can only complete the sit with the assistance of other family members who are not able to stay any longer ( and are not part of the THS agreement) it seems logical that they have to leave .
Itās very unfortunate and as you say disruptive for you but also for the sitter who could not have known that this was going to happen when they applied for the sit .
Itās not always possible to know how long it will take for an individual to recover after surgery as everyone is different and there can be complications.
Great that you had a back up plan of neighbours to cover it .
Yes, but she had returned after having her stitches removed and was back to walking the dog with no problem. With all due respect, she could have finished the sitā¦
I agree and would have preferred that, but she gave the impression that if we re-homed the dog temporarily (the cat was not a problem), she could handle the situation once her stitches were removed. We did fortunately have plan A B & C in placeā¦
@Val_Sco It doesnāt sound like it was āno problemā for her. She obviously had to get help. The sitter just had surgery and should be taking care of herself and healing, not taking care of your pets.
The fact that she made arrangements for help and attempted to finish the sit for you shows that she was committed to the sit. She may have underestimated her recovery time (as many people do when they have surgery). Iām honestly shocked that you are upset that she ended the sit.
Again, she had returned to walking the dog who had returned home at her insistence. Out neighbors said she was walking fine and had no pain. Surgery was key-hole and just a few stitches, so in 10 days she was up and about.
@Val_Sco
If you are a Premium member - you will likely be covered for the cost of getting a paid sitter or kennels to take over the care of your pets as the sit has been curtailed .
You can phone the Urgent Support Line and they can tell you if you will be able to claim for this expense .
Thank you this is what TH said to me and I have since updated my membership. However this wonāt be covered.
Not upset, just disappointed. It all ended well though not the outcome we had hoped for.
She needed emergency surgery. She now needs rest. Life does not go back to normal immediately. I know this isnāt what you want to hear but she obviously tried to help you out as best she can with her cousin coming over too etc, but what she really should have done on this occasion, is NOT to have helped you out and instead cancelled the sit straight away, because her health is more important, and she could have done so without breaching any rules because she has had emergency surgery.
What you could have done, is simply paid a cleaner or asked a neighbour or family member to clean for you and put fresh bedding out, and then you could have got a new THS sitter and your neighbour could have simply let the sitter in.
All HOās must have an emergency contact and a back up plan. Itās not the responsibility of the sitter to sort out a back up plan for you, not when thereās a valid reason for things going wrong, like emergency surgery.
I think your sitter deserves a huge thank you for staying as long as she did, given she had to have emergency surgery. Because if I was sitting on my own and needed emergency surgery, I wouldnāt have stayed.
I totally agree with you and especially the last paragraph.
My statement was directed towards Happy Deb
Totally on the sitter side. She went beyond the call of duty. She came back to your home when I am sure she would rather be at home with loved ones helping her recover. She showed personal integrity. This is a two month free sit for you. You saved thousands on those that charge. Yet you complain about one of her relatives staying at your house to help her hoping they would have stayed at a hotel. Then you complain about the laundry. I agree with the sitters assessment of you.
As one person mentioned you could have had a cleaning lady come in and make the bed up, do the laundry and tidy up and take the generous offer of TH helping you find a replacement.
wow. Sometimes I read stories of outrageous behavior/attitudes of HOs and wonder if the sitter is embellishing a tad, but here is an actual HO showing a completely lack of empathy and understanding.
I get the stress of a sit going south when youāre not home to deal with it - but given the circumstances, I donāt see any fault of the sitter here, and I donāt understand the need to be put out over family/friends staying at your house to assist the sitter during recover. and the laundry?!? Sounds like she made every effort to complete the sit, and I wonder if you communicated some of the things said here to her. I wouldnāt stay if an HO didnāt appreciate the efforts, either.
Agree with others that there were ways to make a new sit work, although I also understand why, if there were other resources available to get through the last 2 weeks, that seems like a better route.
Iām an HO, BTW.
I canāt believe she came back to help you out in the state she was after emergency surgery. She really went above and beyond.
It is very hard to believe that one would complain about her cousin also coming to help you, and complain about laundry!
I could say Iām at loss for words, actually I have many. Will just put in the short version - Iām in the corner of the sitter here.
Thank you @Val_Sco
for bring this situation to the attention of the forum .
It is a good reminder for hosts and sitters to always have a back up plan ( as you did ) in case a sit is cancelled or curtailed due to exceptional circumstances.
Well, yes of course! Seems obvious to me!
Youāre lucky your sitter went above and beyond. Most wouldnāt have returned after surgery.