I was very happy with my sitter when he agreed to sit for me: we had a good video call and when he arrived we talked about all the ins-and-outs of the sit. I had a back-up plan - which he agreed to - in case he had to leave the sit unexpectedly: he would use my car (a 2016 Mazda SUV) to deliver the dogs to two different homes, both within a 25 minute drive.
He was scheduled to leave on a Saturday, and the previous Wednesday he texted me that he would have to leave Friday morning. He also said he didnât want to take the dogs anywhere: he had never driven my car and he didnât know how the dogs would react to the drive. So I arranged for one of the two dogs to be picked up at my home on Friday morning. I urged him to take a brief test drive on Thursday with the 2nd dog, so that he could see for himself that the 2nd dog travels really well. He didnât want to do that and said that he didnât want to test drive an unfamiliar car along unfamiliar roads. He was also afraid that my 2nd dog would try and jump into the front seat or lick his face while he was driving. My 2nd dog travels really well, so I asked him again to take a short test drive on Thursday and he refused.
I was able to find someone to pick up my 2nd dog and take him to a boarding kennel. The entire experience was very stressful. Other than this, he did a good job as a sitter.
Iâm not sure how to rate him on the dimension of not being willing to follow an agreed-upon âquit the sit earlyâ plan. Iâd appreciate some suggestions from the Forum.
Sounds like a terrible sitter, but I guess we donât know why he left early. Definitely somewhere between 1-3 stars.
Going forward, I include in my listing that sitters must be willing and able to drive our pets in our car (or theirs if they have one and prefer) in case of emergency (vet - with us providing payment- or leaving early). I have had sitters apply who donât know how or want to drive at all, which is not acceptable to us at all. Clear that up straight away next time.
Also get a seat belt connector to a harness or some other way to restrain your dogs in the car. They shouldnât be able to jump in the front seat, that is dangerous and I wouldnât want to drive a strange dog that way either.
If everything else about the sit was fine I would dock him stars for reliability and self-sufficiency and then give him 4 stars. In the review explain that he agreed to a plan in case he had to leave early: he would drive the dogs in your car to two other homes less than half an hour away. But when that need actually arose, he was afraid to drive the car and you had to scramble to get others to come get the dogs. I donât think you need to give all the details of his objections â unfamiliar car, unfamiliar roads, fear of dogs jumping around, refuses a test drive. Describing him as afraid might prompt a long reply about why he wouldnât do this but I doubt it will cast him any better a light.
But really he shouldnât be leaving early? We donât know why he left and maybe there was a bona fide emergency. But, OP doesnât say so we donât knowâŚ
Maybe true but we donât have that information. If that is true and he has a legitimate reason for thinking he may need to leave a day early, then he definitely should not have agreed to drive the dogs. That not just a one star deduction then, should be more.
If he has no idea that he would need to leave early and agreed to the plan because he thought it would never come to thatâŚwell maybe then one star deduction in those areas. Feels like it should be more than that because why are you agreeing to something you wonât do?
In all honesty, I would say this comes down to poor planning on both parts and you might consider that when reviewing - your sitterâs for agreeing to something that they werenât actually comfortable doing, and yours for not agreeing with a trusted friend that they be the one to do the 25 minute drive, should the need arise. That would have seemed to be a far more sensible option all round to me, than for someone to drive an unfamiliar car on unfamiliar roads, complete with unfamiliar (and unrestrained?) dogs in tow.
I was also wondering about the lack of restraint in the vehicle for the dogs. I personally would not feel comfortable driving the dogs if I was unable to secure them in the vehicle and especially if I was driving alone.
a harness and seat belt, a car kennel, or clear dividers/grills are all better options than a loose dog in the car.
@MagicalFarm i think the straw for me would be the fact that it was agreed upon upfront then backtracked and done so not at the very start of the sit so that other arrangements could be planned for without stress, but at close to the last minute. I agree with othersâŚ1-2 stars for reliability, but still factor in the rest of the sit.
It also sounds like you gave permission for him to leave early but he then did not hold up his end tbh. I would factor that in as well.
Others have commented on discomfort with driving in a new place/car/dogs he doesnât know but that would be true for anyone arriving to a traveling sit who agreed to the terms at the start so I donât really buy it. The unrestrained dogs part is the only point I give side eye to (as expressed above).
Iâm wondering why you confirmed a sitter who might need to leave early, requiring your dogs zo be driven elsewhere? Did you have no other viable choices? I e someone who could stay the entire sit?
Anyway it sounds like he panicked a bit about driving the dogs etc and having them unrestrained in the car would certainly not help. Iâm surprised he agreed to it in the first place. It sounds like there was some miscommunication on both sides. I think it would have been better to have had a back up plan with local friends who know the dogs (and the roads & car etc) rather than a new sitter you had not met in person at that point. That would have stressed me too.
You say he did a good job as a sitter in other respects so Iâd give a 4 overall (to reflect the end stress) and knock a couple of Stars off for reliability/communication. Try to make your review balanced, reflecting the good and disappointing aspects, so you donât come across as an overly critical host to future readers. Giving only 1 or 2 Stars would be Overkill imho and I would think twice about sitting for you if you are too harsh.
I guess thatâs whatâs unclear. If it was discussed that he may need to leave a day early before the sit was confirmed - thatâs one thing. Then I would remove a star for balking at the driving at the 11th hour.
But if the sit was confirmed through Saturday and this all came up during the sit - well then per THS terms sitters canât just leave a sit a day early. That needs a harsher review in my opinion, but again it depends as sitter may have had a bona fide emergency (eg death in the family, etc).
I did look at OPâs sit and it looks lovely with well-behaved and trained dogs and they have great reviews prior to this.
First - many thanks to each of you for thoughtful responses.
For clarification: I ALWAYS have a back-up plan in case a sitter has an emergency and has to leave my sit. This is discussed with them both during our video call and when they actually arrive.
In this case, the sit was confirmed through Saturday - then he texted me the Wednesday evening before the agreed-upon last day of the sit saying heâd have to leave Friday morning in order to get to a city about five hours away from my home, and he had to be there by 5:00 p.m. He was adamant that he had to leave by noon on Friday, earlier in the morning if possible. I didnât question him as to the whys and wherefores - I only wanted to be sure that my dogs would be taken care of. (I knew that getting a neighbor to feed cats and sheep wouldnât be a problem.) He said that he would put out enough food and water for the dogs for several days. That was NOT an option for me - leaving the dogs alone for up to 1.5 days. Thatâs when we got into a back and forth about his unwillingness to take them. And yes, I have anchors in the car for leash attachments.
Wow. The sitter is terrible. Report to THS as itâs a violation of terms and conditions to leave a sit early. One star overall.
I know in that position I would be focused on the dogs first too but really needs to be reported now.
And leaving dogs for 1.5 with only food out would be abandonment. Definitely leave an honest review at least. No way I would want this sitter.
And your property and reviews are lovely so I wouldnât worry about sitters who say they wouldnât sit for you if your review was too harsh. This deserves some harsh in my opinion.
And in the future, while you definitely need a plan B - no need to detail that for sitters. Just be clear on if they can and would drive your pets in an emergency, and ask if they have driven in new places before. If they ask about emergency plans just say your emergency contacts will step in as appropriate.
Too much detail may made the sitter think it was ok to leave early since you had a plan in place.
The set up seems odd to me as usually there isnât a âleaving earlyâ plan. It sounds like in this case there was and he agreed to it and then didnât follow through. Was there something specific like the dogs not being in crates, or nothing blocking the dogs from climbing into the backseat? Because honestly I could see the sitter seeing something that wasnât going to work about the plan and raising a concern. So in any review with any Iâd want to know more about the why you would take a sitter who âmightâ have to leave early and what reason if any did the sitter give for not following through with the agreement.
Well I have a plan in case something happens to the sitter mid-sit (they end up in the hospital, or need to leave early because of a death in the family, as examples). I donât share those plans with sitters, I share them with my emergency contacts only.
Here the sitter may have figured weow the HO has a great plan so no big deal if I leave earlyâŚ
Itâs complicated as it sounds like he took good care of your dogs, excepting the stressful ending, and also cats and sheep? How long was the sit? If he was there taking good care of things for a couple weeks or more Iâd review more generously. If it was less than that Iâd dock a star or two. Iâm not sure what category Iâd rate down, self sufficiency or communication maybe?
Sometimes plans do change so I donât see that as the biggest issue, itâs the refusal to drive the dogs as agreed and leaving you scrambling that would warrant a docked star IMO. Itâs a strange situation. Feel free to share your review here for input before posting it.
Technically plans canât change once the sit starts unless itâs an emergency. I guess we still donât know the why here but it seems like he unilaterally ended the sit, refused to drive the dogs which he had previously agreed to do, and wanted to leave them alone for a day and half with a little food.
That is not a âtrustedâ sitter to me. And itâs against terms to leave a sit early (barring an emergency).
