I have a bad review now for my only pet sit and I can explain truthfully what happened and how it was not my fault and how sitters do have the right to make their own call.
I have seen other posts alluding to owners treating sitters like full-time servants and that’s pretty much how I was treated (like I have no say in what I do whatsoever and I must follow every instruction no matter how absurd).
I did a sit in WNC where there is a huge demand and not many sitters. I also do mutual aid in that area since Helene and the floods have really devasted the area. I was amazed that the town I went to sit at was untouched. It was kind of a miracle.
But since there’s no mention of "if you don’t lock up your coat, blanket, soft items, or any clothes they will be destroyed by the dogs, I trusted that I could at least hang my coat on the back of a dining room chair.
Nope. Dogs got my credit card out of my pocket and almost made it completely unusable. The tap is now broken and I was almost stranded there. They punctured my coat, destroyed my lunch bag (completely shredded it), and tore many tufts of goat hair out of my sheepskin. They also tore up the owner’s books (which I was expected to clean up, but where is that in the rules?).
So, for her complaints about me - wow. Where do I even begin? She expected me to administer a once per month medication which she didn’t even leave out for me.
I was supposed to find it, I guess. Just look in every nook and cranny of the house for the meds, right? Go through all her drawers to complete the task, or no?
Again, you read that right. A once per month medication which if I didn’t give it to them should not have been held against me. There was absolutely no consequence to her dog’s health whatsoever. None. No problems stemming from my actions. Not a thing.
I cleaned this owner’s house of my own destroyed stuff, ran her floor robot everyday, mopped, washed my towel and folded it, and she COMPLAINED TO ME IN TEXT MESSAGES ABOUT HAVING TO TIDY UP A LITTLE BIT saying SHE DID NOT THINK I WAS A GOOD PERSON TO DO HOUSE OR DOG SITTING AT ALL.
I AM LIVID.
She made herself in communicado the WHOLE time she chose to be gone. She refused to check her phone. READ THAT AGAIN - SHE EXPECTED ME TO CALL HER AT A RETREAT INSTEAD OF PERIODICALLY CHECKING HER PHONE.
NOT MY JOB. NOT MY RESPONSIBILITY. SHE REPLIED BACK TO HER EMERGENCY CONTACT BUT NOT TO ME.
She also will warn you last minute and admits in person that the dogs destroy everything. She does. She does not say that in her profile, however. She also lies about how aggressive one of the dogs is at meal time and she is in complete denial about this dog, but will BLAME THE SITTER FOR NOT CONTROLLING THE DOG SHE CAN’T EVEN CONTROL HERSELF. I’M NOT KIDDING.
HER DOG IS ALL OVER THE FURNITURE ALL THE TIME. SHE PRETENDS IT’S YOUR FAULT. IT’S COMPLETE AND TOTAL ABUSE. AND THIS APP EXPECTS SITTERS TO JUST TAKE IT POLITELY WHILE WE GET LIED ABOUT AND POORLY REVIEWED AND ARE THE ONES SUFFERING DAMAGE BY THE OWNERS LYING ABOUT EVERYTHING.
