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).

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.

Should not ask for a credit card. Cçcccccccccccccccccccccxccxccxcccccccccxcccxcxxxxdcdxxcxxccccccccccccx

I had a HORRIBLE EXPERIENCE with Rover. Will never use the company again.

The dog sitter named Rashad in West Hollywood we hired to care for our dog BOARDED OTHER DOGS IN MY HOME without my consent! We have photographic proof of this, as does Rover, since he accidentally sent me pictures of ANOTHER dog in my home meant for the other dog's owner through the Rover app. Rashad caused over $2000 in damages to my home that Rover REFUSED to compensate me for, and additional damage to my car that Rover's "insurance" policy does not cover. If you care about your furry friend and your home, please read before you book...

I booked Rashad to care for my dog - an 11 year old recent Pit Bull American Bulldog tripawd - for 3.5 weeks in my home. A few days into our trip, Rashad accidentally sends me a message through Rover with photos of ANOTHER DOG, a small one, in my home, on my bed, on my couch (in my dog's spot) meant for this dog's owner. In other words, Rashad was dog sitting other dogs in my home without my consent! When we confronted him about it on the phone, he at first denied it, and only when my husband told him that he sent us those photos, did he come clean. He was very apologetic, offered us a refund, and said it won't happen again. Still, UNACCEPTABLE. My dog is post-chemo and any dog that he brought into my house could have potentially been carrying some illness, which could be detrimental to my dog. Regardless, how dare Rashad use my home to board other dogs?! UNACCEPTABLE. We felt so invaded, but had no option but to continue having Rashad watch our dog, since we were just a week into our trip and didn't have anyone else to care for our dog.

When we returned home from our trip, exhausted from 2 days of travel, Rashad had already left. There were was a very strong oder of urine all over the house. After investigating a bit, we found every single one of the rugs in my home (and there are many, I'm talking about a dozen or so, since we had to cover our hardwood floors with rugs since my dog's amputation surgery 6 months ago, she has difficulty walking on hard floors) were stained in urine. My dog's 2 orthopedic beds were stained in urine, and we later found another one under our bed, also stained in urine. All of the extra sheets, towels and blankets I left for my dog were in hampers COVERED in urine. We had to throw everything out that night and replace the rugs the next day to prevent her from slipping and injuring herself. There were 3 severe stains on my hardwood floors from urine stains that seeped through the rug, which I had to pay a lot of money to repair and despite the repairs, are still visible. Something my landlord will surely not appreciate when I move out, and will most likely be taken out of my deposit. Rashad left an EMPTY bottle of upholstery cleaner in the kitchen, that didn't belong to me.

Furthermore, there was dried up feces caked onto my bedroom rug and on the side of the cabinet in the bathroom, tucked in a corner that my dog - a 60 lb pit bull - could not even begin to fit into. This was obviously done by a smaller dog that could fit in that corner. In the nearly 11 years since I've adopted my dog, she has NEVER poo'd in the house. In 11 years, she's had two pee accidents on her bed when she was going through chemotherapy several months ago, and that was only because she was on meds and her body was weak and she hadn't been out for longer than 5 hours to pee when we were away from the house. Since she's recovered, she has not had any accidents.

While we were away, before Rashad sent us the pics of this other dog by accident, Rashad told us my dog had a pee accident on her bed, while he was at home working in my bedroom on my bed on his laptop. In the couple of times she had a pee accident in the house with us, it was never when we were home, as my dog is very communicative and makes it clear when she has to go outside. When I asked Rashad how long it had been since he took my dog out when this happened, he said he didn't remember, "maybe 6,7 hours, maybe a bit longer, I lost track of time." Later, we realized the timing of this coincided with the day that he sent me a Rover message and photos of this OTHER DOG on my bed, at Rashad's laptop is visible in the photos. Perhaps he was distracted with this other dog that he neglected to take my dog out. Unbelievable! Of course, I didn't know about the other dog at the time. I reminded him what we went over several times verbally and in writing - please take her out during day every 4-5 hours maximum. As our trip progressed, Rashad continued to mention to us that my dog had not had another accident since that one time. So we know for a fact that those urine stains in my house were all from another dog(s) - probably all markings or perhaps poor things weren't being taken out by Rashad when they needed to. Rover told me that Rashad was dog sitting at least 2 other dogs during the time he dog sat my dog. I'm fine with him walking other dogs, but NOT boarding them in my house and in my car...

Not only did Rashad use my home to dog sit another dog, we found a bag with another dog's items in my CAR (a blanket, bag of food, toys). Rashad used my car to transport other dogs! He was supposed to use my car ONLY in case of an emergency for my dog. He not only used it without my consent, but he damaged it and left it a complete mess; my middle divider was broken off and tossed in the back seat and my car phone holder was broken. The rim on one of my (very expensive) tires was damaged. The back seat was covered in items that were in my trunk (I have an SUV), and it smelled obscene. We had to air it out for 3 days before we can even sit in it. What the hell did he do in my car?!

When we tried to contact Rashad that evening asking what had happened, HE NEVER RESPONDED. He completely disappeared on us. We attempted to call him, left messages, emails. NOTHING. We asked him to just leave us our parking permit at least, which cost $35. NOTHING. He left some things here we wanted to return to him, which we told him we can leave for him to pick up. NO RESPONSE. Not surprising given he left my house and car a wreck.

Not only did Rashad have the audacity to board other dogs in my home and in car, allowing them on my bed (which I don't even allow my dog on, and which I explicitly told him), he fed my dog pasta when I told him both verbally and in writing that she is ALLERGIC TO GRAINS. I had to remind him several times about basic things like my dog's medication, her toys, and treats. When I returned home, I found my dog's basket of a variety of treats COMPLETELY UNTOUCHED, except for her bully sticks, even though he was telling me during my trip that he was giving her her treats. What's more, regarding her bully sticks, I verbally and in writing (detailed instructions I emailed and printed for him) told him they were choking hazards (especially given her dental health) and that he must be around when he gives them to her. Yet the day we returned, on our way from the airport, I asked him which treats he gave her that day so that I don't repeat any; he responded that he gave her a bully stick before he left my house "to keep her entertained" - what!?

The first thing I noticed about my dog when we arrived at home was that she had gained weight - 3 pounds! 3 pounds in 3.5 weeks! I had explicitly explained to Rashad that my dog was on a very specific diet to keep her in shape for the sake of her mobility (again, 11 year old recent amputee with severe arthritis) in terms of feeding, treats, and exercise (which is very minimal), and also given her many allergies. I had left her kibble and plenty of home made chicken soup frozen in multiple containers in the freezer for him to thaw and supplement with her kibble. Yet he still made her his own chicken soup that he sent me pics of - with pasta! When I reminded him that she was allergic to grains, he said "Good to know." WTF? I told him about this and it's in her instructions that I emailed and printed for him! He also took it upon himself to make her more chicken, which he sent me photos of covered in oil and spices! Why?! I had plenty that I had prepared for her. And as mentioned, I'm not sure which treats he was giving her, because he didn't use any of the specific ones I left for her. There were other issues regarding her toys, which he didn't put down for her as I asked him to, and had to remind him; and details about when to give her more of her pain pills... just complete incompetence.

Rashad agreed to brush my dog's teeth a few times a week. We went over how to do it. She is the most docile and sweetest, calmest creature, and it's the easiest thing in the world to brush her teeth, she basically licks the brush and falls asleep as you do it. When we arrived home, I noticed her new toothbrush and toothpaste were UNTOUCHED. Her teeth were covered in plaque and tartar, and the first few nights I brushed her teeth, her gums bled - which they never do - because he hadn't brushed them AT ALL.

Needless to say, this has been a very disturbing and frustrating experience. Not only did we return after our long trip to this horrible experience, the lack of professionalism on Rashad's part in not responding to us made everything even worse. His deplorable and unprofessional behavior completely broke any trust I have in the kind of care he took of my dog. My imagination is reeling as to what went on in my home while we were gone. Thank goodness my dog is ok - despite her extra weight impeding on her mobility and her gums bleeding the first few days I brushed her teeth. Obviously she cannot tell me what happened. All I can do to make myself feel better about the situation is that she is alive and ok, and that I'm warning other people about Rashad and about Rover's complete lack of dealing with this situation.

Now to Rover... dealing with Rover's "Safety and Security Team" has been a COMPLETE JOKE. They strung me along for a month; I spent so much time, energy, and went through so much stress while dealing with this - filled out all the paperwork, sent them receipts, spoke to numerous people including an incompetant agent Sean O. I was assigned to and his equally incompetent supervisor named Holly. Yet their entire argument of not compensating me for the damages to my home leans simply on Rashad's word against mine. Which by the day - he didn't respond to them for WEEKS, and only recently did he get back to them about this issue when I demanded a full refund for the stay. Even though I have all the evidence and he just says he's not to blame, they just took his word! This guy who boarded another dog(s) in my home - who knows of the ones I don't know about! - and lied to me about it; tried to get me to bypass Rover - they trust this guys! From Rover's most recent email to me yesterday:
"We were able to address this situation in-full with Rashad, and while Rashad declined to offer a refund for the booking, I was able to get approval to issue a $250.00 refund, which should reflect on your form of payment within 3-5 business days. As mentioned our prior conversations, our coverage for damaged property does not extend to vehicles, or damage caused by an owner's pet and we are unfortunately unable to extend coverage for those damages."

THE DAMAGE WAS NOT CAUSED BY MY DOG, BUT BY OTHER DOG(S) THAT RASHAD BROUGHT INTO MY HOME WITHOUT MY CONSENT AND LIED TO ME ABOUT IT AFTER THE FACT - WHICH WE HAVE PHOTOGRAPHIC EVIDENCE OF. Given that I spent $1250 on the dog-sitting and over $2000 in damages and repairs, not to mention the money that will be taken out of my deposit for the damage to my hardwood floor, and the damage to my car - which Rover does not cover - they can take their $250 and stuff it up their &$%. And what does the supervisor say about this: that there is not enough evidence on my part to show that the damage was not caused by my own dog - even though I sent photos upon photos of the rugs, the urine stains, the beds and rugs in the dumpster, screenshots of messages, receipts, etc, explaining the matter - what else could I show!? DNA samples of my dog's urine compared to DNA samples of the urine found in my house?! Disgusting customer service. They completely took the sitter's side. He told them that all of these urine accidents were my dog's doing - BULL$#*! - and that that other dog only spent an hour or so at my house while waiting for his owner to pick him up - BULL$#*! AND STILL UNACCEPTABLE - and that he used my car to pick up water in an emergency situation - ARE YOU FREAKIN' KIDDING ME!? My parents came by to drop off one of those huge waters for my water cooler during the stay, and I left plenty of water for him when I left. And even if there was an "emergency water situation" - why do you need to have a bag of other dog's stuff in my car along with it, and why leave my car a complete mess, and break stuff? BIZARRE and BULL$#*!. I live in central Weho walking distance to plenty of places to pick up water. Such a joke.

To add insult to injury, Rashad's profile is still up and running on Rover! Not only did he completely take advantage of my home, my car and my trust... I sent Rover a screenshot of a message Rashad sent me before our trip asking me if I want to BYPASS ROVER and book privately with him to save money - which is completely against Rover's contract with its dog sitters - (which I declined) and yet Rover allows him to continue booking jobs. When I addressed this matter with the supervisor, she said they have a "forgiving" policy with the dog sitter for doing such things, even though it goes against their contract. Unbelievable!

This is the company you're dealing with if you book through Rover. I've booked through them in the past for dog boarding and luckily had good experiences. But I will NEVER trust this company or its sitters again. They do not back up their so-called insurance policy. There is literally no more specific evidence I could have provided them in this situation and that was their main support for not reimbursing me for damages.

I will be reporting them to the Better Business Bureau and I will be seeking legal assistance.

The photo I uploaded is a screenshot of the message Rashad sent me through Rover. This is NOT my dog. But it is my home, my bed, my couch.