Home Alone: Pet Sitting

With winter being around the corner, many Canadians are likely planning on making some trips to escape the cold weather. For those of us with pets, the thought of leaving our beloved animals can put a damper on our excitement. This week, let’s talk about some ideas about what to do with your animals when you leave on vacation.

Just like finding babysitters for our kids, it can be hard to find a pet sitter for our pets, simply because we don’t know who to trust. The obvious, and most comfortable, choice for a pet sitter would be a close friend or a family member. Many relatives would be happy to spend time with a furry friend so you can enjoy your vacation. If you leave them a list of feeding instructions as well as other additional information, such as typical quirks your pet has that your pet-sitter should be aware of. Even if a close friend or family member is not able to bring your pet to their house due to the prospect of conflicts with other pets, your sitter can still come pop in at the beginning and end of each day to take care of business. Another idea is to have your guest bedroom set up in case that person wants to lodge in your home while they do the job. The trust aspect seems to be the biggest hurdle. However, what if your family member or close trusted friend is not able to take care of your animal? This is when we need to start looking further.

Finding a stranger to look after your pet can be a major deterrent for even traveling in the first place. A recent, horrifying report coming out of Hamilton, Ontario just this summer told the story of at least two dogs who were killed in the care of a relatively well-known dog boarding company. One random morning, the owners of Cartelo the pocket bully, were told to come get their dog out of the business owner’s freezer. The two confirmed deaths of these otherwise healthy dogs were determined to be by heatstroke and dehydration - the owner of the business did not give them water. Further reports showed the horrific conditions the dogs lived in, which consisted of pure filth. As my cat sits in my lap as I write this, it is hard to imagine how those owners felt. The company was able to reach her customers come victims through a pet sitting app called Rover.

Rover’s terms and conditions include an agreement to bring complaints to individual arbitration instead of court unless you explicitly, in writing, opt out of that term. This term of their agreement also precludes class action lawsuits. On the bright side, Rover offers a standard reward to help owners find their pets - it was raised from $100 to $500. They also perform background checks, which includes checking the “sex offender registry, terrorist watchlist, and National Criminal Database.” Sitters are also required to answer a six-question safety quiz. Sitters can pay to have either standard or enhanced background checks and customers can choose to hire those with only enhanced checks. It is unclear what the difference between the two tiers is.

If you choose to use a platform like Rover, it is important you do your due diligence before allowing your pet into the hands of a stranger. That is not to say the owner of the deceased dogs did not do their due diligence, but it is always important to be extra careful. CNN Business says more than 2 million people have used the app - this should make us feel somewhat confident. However, CNN has reported a number of incidents of pets being lost or killed in the care of a Rover sitter. Some safety measures include an interview; sometimes we can sense something fishy by just talking to someone. It is also important to check reviews or maybe reach out to people who have placed reviews under the sitter’s profile to gain more information about their experience. Some owners do trial runs: they send their pet to the Rover sitters for the day while they’re at work, for example, and see how the day goes.

While it’s likely easier said than done, you don’t have to let your fear of leaving your pet behind prevent you from going on vacation. Lots of great options are available and despite the horror stories, they are only a few bad apples.