My initial experience with Rover occurred on 9/22/22, when Rover sitter Hayley Bovee (Hilb) negligently lost my dog:

https://www.rover.com/members/hayley-b-wiregrass-k9s-training-boarding/?msockid=*******ceb964bd*******fccf*******a

Since then, I have taken legal action against Bovee (Hilb) and her company, Wiregrass K9s Training & Boarding, for breach of duty and breach of contract. The Small Claims Court of Geneva County, AL ruled in my favor, and I was awarded a judgment against Bovee (Hilb) and her company.

Case Information:

Court: Small Claims Court of Geneva County, Alabama
Case Number: 34-SM-2024-9 0 0 3 0 3.00
Defendants: Hayley Bovee (Hilb), Wiregrass K9s Training & Boarding
Judgment Filed: 11/07/2024 at 1:06:19 PM

Rover's Terms of Service and the Issue at Hand

Rover's Terms of Service explicitly state the following:
"For Service Providers, this means, among other things, that you certify that you are legally eligible to provide Pet Care Services in the jurisdiction where you provide Pet Care Services; that you have complied and will comply with all laws and regulations that are applicable to you; that you have obtained all business licenses, business tax registrations, and permits necessary to provide Pet Care Services legally; and that, when providing Pet Care Services, you will comply with applicable leash, pet waste disposal, and similar laws."

Hayley Bovee (Hilb) advertised herself as the owner of a legitimate business, Wiregrass K9s Training & Boarding, which influenced my decision to hire her. She presented herself as a professional, not just a casual sitter - as we all know the vast majority of Rover sitters are. However, after she failed to provide promised updates for over 24 hours, she eventually contacted me via TEXT MESSAGE to inform me that my dog had allegedly escaped after she opened a door to take out the trash. She had made no attempt to secure the environment or contain my dog before opening that door, a glaring safety oversight.

At first, I believed this was simply an unfortunate accident. However, Bovee (Hilb)'s claim that she was covered by a Rover liability policy raised immediate concerns. Rover's Terms of Service explicitly state that service providers must obtain their own insurance if they desire coverage. I took further steps to investigate, and when I visited the local City Hall, I discovered that not only was Bovee (Hilb) uninsured, but she was also operating an illegal business without a valid business license, permits, or appropriate zoning. This led me to file a police report (Daleville City PD, report #5503), resulting in Bovee (Hilb) receiving a Notice of Violation of City Ordinance.

Additional Concerns and Rover's Response

Since the incident, I have connected with other clients of Bovee's, and I've learned that she has lost other dogs under her care—at least one of which tragically died. I even have Facebook messages from Bovee herself notifying an owner about the death of their dog.

When I sent Rover the police report, their response was:

"We have conducted a holistic review of this situation to establish a clearer picture of what happened and have reviewed the documents that have been sent in. Due to Rover's privacy policy, we are unable to share the details of another user's account. That said, I can assure you we have taken action based on our findings to uphold the safety of our community."

Despite this statement, Bovee's profile remained active at the time—and still remains active today. Rover's failure to remove her profile or address the legal violations, despite having received clear documentation from the police, raises serious concerns about their commitment to upholding their own Terms of Service.

I followed up with additional evidence, including the messages from Bovee (Hilb) herself regarding the dog that died in her care. This follow-up went unanswered, and I was essentially ignored.

Rover's "Trusted Community" Claim: A False Promise

Rover frequently boasts of being a platform that connects pet owners with a "community of trusted, reliable pet sitters and dog walkers". However, my experience, along with others' experiences with Hayley Bovee (Hilb), highlights a significant issue with that claim. Rover continues to allow a sitter with a history of negligence, legal violations, and multiple losses of pets in her care to operate on their platform, despite clear evidence of her lack of professionalism and responsibility.

This raises an important question: how can Rover claim to be a platform that prioritizes safety and trust when it allows a sitter like Bovee (Hilb) to maintain an active profile, especially after I provided legal documentation showing that she is operating an illegal business and has caused significant harm to pets under her care? It is misleading to advertise the platform as a safe, vetted community when known issues with service providers like Bovee (Hilb) remain unaddressed.

Ongoing Situation and Community Feedback

I will update this post again should I receive a response from Rover after I send them documentation of the court's judgment against Bovee (Hilb) and Wiregrass K9s Training & Boarding.

In the meantime, it is concerning that Bovee (Hilb) continues to maintain a profile full of five-star reviews on Rover, despite the numerous allegations and legal findings against her. Based on what I have learned from other members of the community—both professional and personal—this raises red flags. I cannot help but believe that Rover may be removing negative reviews to protect service providers like Bovee (Hilb).

I WORKED AS A PET SITTER & WALKER FOR ROVER. I BUILT UP A STRONG COMMUNITY AND BUSINESS TO WHERE I WAS MAKING 80K A YEAR WITH 500+ 5 STAR REVIEWS. EVERYTHING WAS OKAY UNTIL THEY TOOK SOME GUYS SIDE WHEN HE TRIED TO SA ME AND PUT VIDEO CAMERA'S IN HIS BATHROOM TO RECORD ME WHEN I UTILIZED HIS FACILITIES. HE LIED AND SAID I LOST THE KEY & DEMANDED I RETURN IT RIGHT THEN AND THERE WHEN I DID NOT HAVE AN AGREEMENT WITH HIM TO HOLD HIS KEY. HE WAS ADVISED IN OUR INITIAL AGREEMENT TO GET A LOCKBOX OR HIDE HIS KEY. NO SAFETY FOR WOMEN, AND THEY WILL DELETE YOUR ACCOUNT AT A MOMENTS NOTICE AND ALWAYS TAKE THEIR CUSTOMERS SIDE. BE SMART AND START YOUR OWN SIDE HUSTLE OFF THE APP. YOU CAN KEEP THE 20% AND CONTROL YOUR BUSINESS AND MAKE MUCH MORE. ROVER ALSO DOESN'T CARE IF OTHER WALKERS/SITTERS ABUSE YOUR PETS OR KILL THEM. YOU WILL NEVER GET THE 25K WITH ALL THE HOOPS YOU HAVE TO JUMP THROUGH. IF YOU LOVE YOUR PETS, HIRE AN INDEPENDENT BUSINESS! I ONLY SUPPORT SMALL TO MEDIUM BIZ.

TO PET OWNERS: FROM A FORMER WORKER, STOP USING ROVER OR WAG IF YOU LOVE YOUR PETS! THEY DO NOT VET ANYONE, AND THE BACKGROUND CHECKS ARE BOGUS. SINCE ITS AN APP COMPANY, THE CONTRACTOR CAN WALK AWAY AT ANY TIME. IT WILL NOT AFFECT THEM OR ROVER. MY NEIGHBOR HAS BIPOLAR WITH 7 RESTRAINING ORDERS AGAINST HER, AND ROVER ALLOWS HER TO WALK & SIT. WHEN SHE GOES INTO A RAGE, SHE BEATS THE ANIMALS. SHE ALSO HAS AN ESA DOG AND HAS BEEN 5-1-5-0 BY THE POLICE MULTIPLE TIMES. IF YOU HAVE A PULSE, ROVER WILL HIRE YOU REGARDLESS OF YOUR PAST, STRENGTH, AGE, PHYSICAL LIMITATIONS, EXPERIENCE WITH ANIMALS, OR MENTAL ACUITY. I HAVE MET SENIORS WITH DEMENTIA ON THEIR APP, AND FORMER FELON'S AND HOMELESS PEOPLE. REALITY IS, YOU HAVE NO CLUE WHAT OR WHO IS COMING EVEN WHEN YOU MEET THEM, THEY CAN PRESENT AS NICE AND AMAZING.

People in the community here, recommend Rover. Not happy about it, but I gave it a chance. I looked for the most 5 star reviews, most repeat customers. The woman came to my house for an interview, she seemed genuine. I booked her for our may trip. Wanting to get her use to the dogs, I had her come two days later,to walk the dogs while we were out. When I got home, I checked the camera, I did tell her about the living room camera, and she had no problem with it. And the doorbell camera will always be on. As she comes in, Murphy grabbed a toy to meet her, which he has not done for months, because he has been sick, pneumonia and collapsed trachea, I was so excited to see this, two wiggle butts were so excited. They love people.
They both run to her, she completely ignores them. No pets. No hello. She struggles to figure out the basic harness. Tells Grace to get out of her way, she took Murphy toy away and threw it across the room and telling him he better not scratch her. I paid 44.00 for two half hour walks.
She does not put Murphys cooling vest on, which I was very adamant about. Also hand washing. No vest. She walks Murphy for 9 minutes. Comes back gets Grace, she's yelling at Grace to hold still. She was happy butt wiggling. She walks grace for 7 minutes. She is talking on the phone, locks the door, but Grace is still outside the door connected to the leash. When She takes the harnesses off, she throws them on the floor. Before she leaves she throws them on the couch. Does not hang them where she got them. Both dogs go into our spare room. They don't even attempt to go to her for pets.
Which is extremely unusual. Because Grace loves people, and has always wiggled in for pets, comfort. She sits on the couch. I hear her say, look at all this $#*!. Referring to my husbands BP machine and stuff as he has terminal cancer, book, tissue box. She sits there, no dogs. Watching her watch. On her phone.
She takes her fanny pack off, hat sunglasses. Goes into my room, the dogs are still in spare room, I assume she is going to the bathroom. If she just wanted to wash her hands, the sink is right there in the couch area
Because I'm mental, before we leave I take down all the towels. Hand towels, area rugs. I left three folded paper towels in bathroom. Toilet not flushed. No towels were used. She never washed her hands. All this time, she has not interacted with the dogs AT ALL. Does not address them, pet them. They were completely ignored. She waits the full hour and
Goes to the door of the spare bedroom, takes a picture sends it to me and says everything went great. I left a note, with dog treats on the counter, as soon as you come in. With reminder of Murphys vest. No vest no treats were given. She doesn't say goodbye, walks out leaves. At the interview, she went on about how long she's been doing this. Grace sat next to her, petting her, petting Murphy, talking to them.also, I was surprised to see a 70 year old woman, her profile was probably taken 7-8 years ago.
I was so disappointed and I felt worse for M and G.

My dog (toy poodle) had his annual visit with his regular veterinarian exactly one week before he was dropped off for a six-night dog boarding in the home of a Theresa & Nicole, Rover.com sitters. His annual exam was normal and he was fine when I dropped him off. I received photos and updates during the course of his stay reflecting that he was fine. On the day I was returning home, the sitters messaged that my dog was randomly crying and whimpering due to no known cause other than he might miss me. I offered to pick him up when my flight landed, but was assured he was fine and picking him up in the morning was fine. I received another message upon landing that my dog was eating and drinking but he seems sad and in pain. The sitter did not know if he just missed me or if there is an underlying condition. Sitter stated that when he walks around the house it is slow and his feet sometimes slip out from him causing him to fall, then he yelps a bit. I informed them that I would pick him up that night.

When I arrived, the sitters were apologetic and offered to refund that night's stay. When I learned that due to my dog's behavior, he had missed his dose of medication for his joints, so I assumed that this was the source of his pain. I left carrying him to the vehicle and from the vehicle to my home. I did not realize the seriousness of my dog's condition until the following morning. He could not bear his weight and could not use his front left paw. I immediately called the Rover.com sitter, who then told me she thought he had hurt his paw from jumping, and I responded that this is information I should have been told to relay to his veterinarian. I then received a text from Rover.com that they opened a case with Rover for emergency treatment if needed. Later that day, my dog was seen by his veterinarian who concluded that my dog had a neck injury and although there was pain in his front left paw it was not broken. She concluded that his symptoms were due to an injury as this condition does not occur spontaneously. He was prescribed steroids and pain medication.

Rover denied the claim on the basis that this was a pre-existing condition, although the veterinarian's handwritten notes indicate otherwise. Rover advised that their decision could be appealed by submission of additional information directly from the veterinarian within 30 days. Before my veterinarian could submit the required documentation, Rover sent email informing me that although my claim was denied, that as a courtesy, they would give me a courtesy payment for the same amount that would have been paid if my claim was approved. This courtesy payment was contingent upon me signing a settlement release in which Rover does not assume fault, and prevents me from sharing what happened publicly which could harm Rover's reputation.

So why am I posting this review? My senior dog showed no improvement from treatment with steroids and pain medication. Six days after his injury, my veterinarian advised me that he would unlikely improve and since he was still eating, I need to keep him comfortable. However, if he does not eat for two days, that means it is his time…time to put him asleep to end his suffering. I provided around the clock care of my dog until he died exactly two weeks from the date, he was retrieved from Rover's dog boarder. The pain of losing him is unbearable at times as it feels like a loss of a family member. Instead of me being able to peacefully grieve this loss, I have received emails over the weekend from Rover informing me that I can no longer use Rover unless I agree to their updated terms of service, to include changes to their arbitration agreement. Rover does not want to be accountable for the injury that occurred while my dog was in the custody of their boarder. My dog taught me the meaning of unconditional love, and because of that love I am sharing my painful experience. I do not want any other pet owner to experience what I am going through right now; therefore, my silence can never be bought.

My first time time using rover.com left me profoundly shocked and disappointed. I found a catsitter through them who came by for 25 days in a row. Even though she stated shortly after starting that she had been assaulted and suffered a head concussion, I told her to "take it easy" and not go in on the days she felt unwell. Almost three weeks later, she then messaged me to tell me that my cat had bitten her and that she had decided to go to Urgent Care. She continued to catsit until I returned.

But a few days after I got back, she messaged me to accuse me of having lied (denied) that my cat sometimes bites and punctures the skin. She also added that she had a compromised immune system and that she shouldn't have to tell me this. I'm not sure I understand completely the logic of her last statement.

She had done an excellent job despite the head injury and the catbite (which never turned into anything serious). I gave her a glowing positive review and tipped her.

I discovered ten days after that rover.com had disabled my login to their site. I had to telephone them to discover what the issue was. Apparently they had decided that my cat was a danger.

There is no way for me to ascertain how seriously my cat had bitten her (he sometimes bites me, too, breaking the skin, as I had explained to her when she messaged me to let me know, and I applied a topical ointment, which had always cleared up the lesion).

Rover.com should allow me to communicate with the catsitter to find out what really happened. It sounds like what she messaged me was not what really happened. She made it sound like a perfunctory duty she had had to perform.

They take your money and then refuse to take responsibility for clearing up a serious issue. I am a responsible cat owner and I would like to be sure that my cat's behavior has not significantly deteriorated. Now I am missing an important component which would allow me to assess how much of a danger, if any, he might pose for myself or another catsitter.

Now I don't have any record--much less receipt--of my catsitter's having catsat for me for 25 days. Or way of getting one. It all has "disappeared in the ozone." That isn't right and isn't fair to me (the "employer").

Short of that, I face having to surrender him, which I really do not want to do.

It is important to take into consideration that the sitters themselves on Rover can be wonderful, but Rover itself is a terrible company to work for and work with. If you value a Rover sitter you have found, please leave them your phone number and information OUTSIDE of the Rover sitting app so you can have security knowing you can contact them at any time.

Rover is a marketing/referral corporate company, and can, at any time with their own discretion, delete any sitter profile at anytime without warning or discussion no matter how well they have done, how many reviews, or how much money they make. The majority of positive reviews are about the sitters, not the Rover company itself.

Rover company does minimal work and takes a large percent of all income earned by sitters. I was making $80k per year, working full time, as a sitter, and they were taking $20k from me to cover "website expenses, Rover Guarantee, and customer service support", which in my experience the past 4 years, was absolutely sh-t when I actually needed them. I was dumb not to branch off of Rover at that point because I do not feel they deserved at all the income I was providing for them.

Their "Rover Guarantee" doesn't mean much at all. I have only had to use their emergency services 3-4 times over the past 4 years. The first was for a hotspot under a dog's collar, which they covered the vet expenses over $250 without issue. The second was a client that tried to get me to pay a $500 xray bill that was completely unnecessary for a scratch her dog received while playing. Rover would not cover so she tried to sue me personally, which Rover did nothing about. Rover does not assist in ANY legal issues. I had to hire an attorney outside of the app to handle that conflict.

I also contacted Rover about an emergency of a dog being stuck in a house without my care for almost 24 hours because the garage door stopped working. Rover did absolutely nothing and just told me to wait until the owner eventually answered (they were on the other side of the world and a 13 hour time difference). So the dog had to hold his potty for almost 24 hours and was out of water by the time I was able to get in.

The last conflict was for daycare services in my house and was the first dog fight I had in 4 years of working with pets. Neither dogs are dog aggressive or had issues before. It was a random isolated incident. The dogs have known each other for years and absolutely had no issue, but this fight resulted in one needing staples/stitches. The owner was okay and requested to file a claim to get compensation for the emergency vet costs. The total was under $4k and manageable considering how much income I earned for Rover the past 4 years, it should have been no issues to cover it and let us move on. Because of the incident, Rover completely deleted my sitter profile, sitting at 430+ five star reviews and HUNDREDS of repeat clients and said there was no appeal whatsoever due to "policy" and past instances on my file.

The company is completely unethical and had no remorse over completely deleting 4 years of my work and would not release any of my hard earned referrals. Which is shocking considering I put my trust and faith in Rover to have my back because I work full time from home as a mom. Deleting my profile could have meant we ended up homeless if I wasn't smart and left my personal contact for many of my clients to continue my business outside of the app.

They do have a huge security issue: that they do no background checks on pet owners. Anyone at any time can make a owner profile and target hire specific sitters that they want, which can lead to safety issues as far as being a site for predators to lurk. Many gigs I did not take because of safety issue concerns.

This company is unethical and unfair with their treatment of their Rover sitters, and I absolutely warn anyone that is using their platform to have contracts with your clients, business insurance, download every review you earn, and leave your business card with EVERY client who loves to work and always wants to remain in contact with you. Otherwise, you are completely at mercy of a corporate company that doesn't give two sh-ts about you if a real concern comes up.

First time using this app, We are very attached to our husky shepherd. So we wanted to make sure we had the right fit. We contacted three people, as suggested by Rover to reach out to more than one person. First one was unresponsive. I had to send several messages and then, re-submit a request it took about three days as we are trying to secure a weekend which included the holiday. When the boarder requested a meet and greet and the second one finally responded, we scheduled a meet and greet for both the same day. The first one seemed like a good fit, but was the further distance from our destination. The second one was more of a dog daycare, and there was quite a few dogs which was fine, but we didn't feel that was a good Fit for our dog who is used to being the only do even though she is very social. We still consider her a puppy and she loves other dogs and people. We reached out to another rover border and she was nonresponsive thinking we were going to secure the first one I gave her a couple of messages. We were securing the first border and ready to send our money when he canceled on an emergency and said this was unexpected so we had to continue looking. The other rover border responded and said she was sorry but she had been sick but she would like to schedule a meeting greet so we went back-and-forth with dates for the meet and greet and I noticed she changed her fees. When I asked her what were her fees because it was a holiday, it was more which was fine with us and that our dog required more care because we mention we did not want her alone for more than an hour. She said she felt our dog needed care constantly like a puppy, and I reminded her that she's with us all the time and there was nothing that indicated she needed care like a puppy, our dog is 1.7 yrs old and just likes being around people and the boarder did have another dog which we liked and thought it was fine. BOTTOMLINE several issues that it is the people that are the problem not the dogs or the pets. We were willing to pay whatever it was required but we wanted to make sure that our pet had good care since we were going to leave her for two days which included the holiday. I get it. This is a business, but be honest and upfront with people. Don't change your fees at the last minute or indicate issues that aren't there. We just want our dog to be in a place where we feel comfortable. So my question to rover is how do you screen your borders

I don't recommend Rover for housesitting services for SENIOR dogs because the company doesn't care if they are left alone for over 5-7 hours, which in my case happened 3 out of the 4 days I booked her for.

I contacted Rover support and they do not have a problem with leaving a senior dog alone for that long. I booked her for $383 for her to let my dog out every 4 hours but my dog wasn't able to get his usual bathroom break so he went all over the house.

I don't recommend using Rover because their website states that senior dogs shouldn't be left alone without a bathroom break for more than 6 hours (even though most websites say 2-4 hours for senior dogs), they don't enforce it.

I emailed Rover Support 4 times and only received one response before they stopped replying. They didn't provide any reimbursement even though my care instructions were not followed.

I have cameras outside my property because I have gotten my car stolen before so I get notifications whenever someone is detected outside my house. I took screenshots of the timestamps to send to Rover as they needed to see picture evidence of the times she came and went. Despite sending them picture evidence nothing came of it.

I thought more people should be made aware that this is the kind of service you risk getting by Rover Sitters, that not every sitter will provide basic care for pets.

Had I known Rover Sitters left dogs alone for that long, I wouldn't have booked a service in the first place. But because Rover makes it seem like they really care about pet's safety I felt I could trust the service. I was wrong.

I wasn't expecting 24/7 care, I simply didn't find it appropriate that a senior dog would not be given a bathroom break for long periods of time like this, especially when I had specified that he could be left alone for up to 4 hours. She agreed to take on the responsibility knowing my pet's care instructions, then completely disregarded them.

I obviously won't be leaving my dog anymore. I learned my lesson. For me, my dog is more than my pet, to me he is my baby. But he also has severe anxiety (which is why he's on anti-anxiety medication) and is very yippee so he's not the kind of dog I can bring anywhere. I will NEVER leave his side ever again.

This info is useful to know if your dog is family and not just a dog to you.

I had posted about this on Reddit and lots of Rover Sitters argued its okay to leave a senior dog alone without bathroom breaks for 8-10 hours. In fact, they were very defensive about it and basically said minimum pay, minimum effort (even though I paid her more than she was asking for to simply let him out and use the bathroom). After seeing the type of attitude and responses the Rover Sitters had about this situation, I would never hire another Rover Sitter again.

I did not expect the sitter to go on walks, to play with him, simply to allow him to use the bathroom at a reasonable time. And she couldn't be bothered to accommodate his most basic needs, despite being compensated more than her asking rate. I was hoping it would incentive her to treat my dog better. But it did nothing.

I hired the sitter for the sole reason she was on spring break and was out of school. I was aware that she would be doing other sitting but I never imagined she would leave my 9+ year old dog without bathroom breaks for more than 5-7 hours at a time.

I used rover on a number of occasions with a total of 5 sitters - one stood me up, one had a new baby in the house and completely neglected my dog, one was OK, one was good, and one used to be very good but isn't any more. I want to stress the last sitter I used. This was a couple who used to take very good care of my dog up to 2015. I booked them again in 7/2022 while I attended a wedding. I was shocked because the pet sitter had changed so much. It was clear she was not well, mentally and particularly physically, she told me her partner had dementia and that she was losing it as well. I hold myself responsible that I put the wedding before my dog's health. The door to their apt. Was left open and one of the dogs was running outside the door when thee door to the building was wide open. That was my second clue that I should never have left her. 4 days later when I was on my way back to pick my dog up, I got a phone call that my dog was sick - asked to further explain I was told that her partner fed her junk (he had done this many years ago as well but never to the point that she gained weight but never got sick). I was told that she was vomiting and would't eat anything and was just lying there. When I got there, my dog didn't even come to the door when she heard my voice. I brought her home, she seemed sick but OK that night. The next AM she was vomiting, had diarrhea and wouldn't eat. I took her to the vet and she had a belly full of junk. They treated her and she was still sick. Took her to another vet and after about 3 weeks total she was back to herself. Forgot to mention that vet bills were $2000 but that was not my issue. When I went into the apartment, the dog sitter's partner was screaming and pounding his fist on the table because of another dog's barking. It was so obvious that neither the sitter nor her partner were well and they were certainly not capable of looking after someones beloved pet. I called Rover. I didn't want to say anything too negative because at one time I did and stil truly do like thse people, they just aren't capable any more and anyone who would step foot in their door would recognize this. It was that obvious. So I basically just gave Rover some basics and after thinking about it and because my consicence told me that I had to tell them everything because I didn't want another pet owner to see a good revirew and think these people were OK. They are older and are physically and mentally disabled and have no business taking care of anyone's pet. I called them back and provided all the information and pleaded with Rover to make a cite visit. Month's later, I checked and those people are still on Rover. I called Rover again and nothing was done. I think they just take anyone. As I mentioned I had two other sitters who were pretty bad as well but none like these people I used to be very happy with. I don't know what the fed her to make her so sick but she now had Kidney Disease which most likely doesn't have anythhing to do with that stay but I will always blame myself for leaving her iin the event it did. So warning, definitely make a home visit before you leave your pet with anyone on Rover. I will not ever use Rover again after this. I don't want to mention the people's name because they are nice people without a lot of money and I think they have a couple of regulars that must still be OK with them. I am being asked for proof of purchase. This was 6 months ago and you pay Rover with a credit card. I don't have the same credit card. I'm sure I still have the receipt of purchase but I am going to go through all my 2022 statements to find it. If it is absolutely necessary I wil but since I'm having surgery in less than two weeks I can't do it for about a month. I would not make this up.

Update 08/30/23:

The local police department cited my sitter for operating illegally without a business license.

In the narrative of the report, the sitter admits she did not know she needed a business license, that she opened the door with a garbage bag in hand with no preventative measures taken to block the exit or to secure my dog and allowed my dog to run out. It also took her 45 minutes to even notify me.

Rover's Terms of Service states the following:

Service providers "certify that you are legally eligible to provide Pet Care Services in the jurisdiction where you provide Pet Care Services; that you have complied and will comply with all laws and regulations that are applicable to you; that you have obtained all business licenses, business tax registrations, and permits necessary to legally provide Pet Care Services."

I sent the police report to Rover that not only demonstrates my sitter was violating Rover's Terms of Service but that she was cited by law enforcement for operating illegally.

This was their first response to me after I submitted the police report:

"Thank you for keeping us updated and attaching these documents for our review. While we do not require users to provide proof of licensing, as laws can vary by area, we do expect all users to be conducting their services or business in accordance with their local laws and regulations and will add this information to our file for further review."

This is their response when I inquired about 30 days later:

"Our goal is always to ensure we're taking appropriate steps to support you and uphold our commitment to the safety of our community. We have conducted a holistic review of this situation to establish a clearer picture of what happened and have reviewed the documents that have been sent in. Due to Rover's privacy policy, we are unable to share the details of another user's account. That said, I can assure you we have taken action based on our findings to uphold the safety of our community."

Her profile is active, so it is clear what action Rover has taken.

Join the Facebook group called Rover Kills Dogs and read all of the horror stories shared there. Do a Google search on Rover sitters losing and/or dogs.

If you care about your pets, please do not use this platform. Use a reputable boarding company in your area, or someone that you know and trust personally and pay them directly.

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Original Review below submitted 10/24/22:

No stars should absolutely be an option here.

First and last time using Rover.

I hired a sitter on Rover who advertised herself as a "certified behavioral trainer" and listed her services as operating under a local training and boarding company. I chose her over other sitters because she represented herself as a legitimate business owner and as having more experience than the many teenagers/stay-at-home parents that are on Rover to make an easy buck. However, after having my dog for 24 hours, the sitter opened the front door to her home, without having eyes on or control of my dog, and allowed her to escape. She also TEXTED me to inform me of this, did not call, and also did not contact Rover (I was the one who did this).

For some reason, the sitter believed that Rover covered incidents like this under their liability policy (there is no such thing), and even though Rover's Terms of Service says they expect their sitters to be properly insured, licensed, and permitted according to local laws, they do nothing to enforce that. Why are there sitters who do not understand the TOS? I found all of this information out easily on the website, and my sitter did not know that she was not insured by Rover until *I* informed her. After having spoken to other Rover sitters in the area, I learned that Rover's vetting process is practically non-existent. So I clicked through the Become a Sitter process to see what it took... all I had to do was request testimonials from a handful of different email addresses (who's to stop me from creating those addresses and making up those testimonials myself?), complete a 6-question safety quiz, and pay their review fee. That is an utter joke.

Rover also does not give the last name for your sitter when booking, just first name. The following morning after my dog went missing, my sitter made a post on a local Facebook page, and there I found her last name. I Googled her and found that she had been arrested for a DUI earlier this year in March. I also went to City Hall to see if she was licensed or permitted for residential boarding and found no, she is not, she is indeed operating an illegal business out of her home. Had I had a last name, I would have at a minimum seen the DUI, known that she was not a responsible person, and would have made other arrangements.

Then when I went to the police station to file a police report against her, I found out that she and her family are well-known to them for criminal activity. Additionally, I started talking to other trainers in the area who are familiar with her and found that this wasn't even the first time that she had lost someone's dog! She had actually lost another client's puppy just a few months before losing my dog! I was able to contact that person and confirm this information. They found their dog quickly though, so that is why they never pursued anything against her.

So even though the list proving what an irresponsible human being she is (and that's not even accounting for the apathy and lack of remorse that she's shown throughout this entire ordeal) continues to grow, she has Rover's stamp of approval with an enhanced background check. This proves how woefully inadequate Rover's vetting process is.

Should I have asked more questions? Absolutely. Should I have not taken this person's exaggerated credentials for granted? Certainly. The sitter called it "silly" and "ridiculous" that I went to the police for her illegal residential boarding operations and even went as far as to blame my dog for "not knowing her name" and "not knowing basic commands" (none of which is true), in addition to blaming me for choosing her in the first place! This woman completely misrepresented herself as someone who could be trusted, and she 100 percent failed and refuses to take responsibility for her actions. These are the kind of people Rover allows on their platform.

Please do not use Rover to hire someone to take care of your beloved pets. Go to a legitimate business who is properly insured, licensed and permitted. This has been an incredibly painful lesson for me, please learn from my mistakes. We are exploring our legal options.

Oh, and my dog is still missing. It's been 32 days. I don't know if my best friend is alive or dead, and I may never know. Thanks, Rover.