RoverReviews 622

Truly and honestly one of the worst companies I have ever dealt with.

Beyond the few walkers I have used that stole rolls of poop bags or didn't use the proper harness (not that big of a deal), I had a woman stay over and "care" for my cat and dog and multiple violations were done. Multiple guests brought over (security camera evidence), dog fed the wrong food, dog allowed to eat from bag of food and I was not told for hours, cleaning products left on the ground, cats litter box blocked and uncleaned for days.

I get it, rover is a site for independent contractors. But they did not care nor remedy the situation in the slightest. Impossible to get a solid answer from anyone, or a call back. I followed their mediation guidelines and because of that had to pay full price for a service that was not done.

They do not care about the safety of animals, humans, or property.

Do not use them.

So I will start used this for a cat sitter for two days. All they had to do was have someone come in feed my cat and change litter. The first day went perfect only reason they aren't getting one star. Now here is the issue the sitter that get assigned I don't know the system on their end but some how even after they get assigned they can cancel at any time. So when I wake up the next day checking to see if the sitter came. They never showed up Apparently the cancelled last minute and rover couldn't reassign another sitter leaving my cat hanging until I got back home later in the day thank god. Of course he was so hungry when I got home I felt terrible for entrusting him to this app. Never again, I'll just stick to a local service next time.

Thing could of been way worse if it was a longer trip and this happened in the middle.

Did you know in certain states it is required by law that anyone caring for animals in their home must submit to inspection and wait for approval by Dept Of Agriculture to be properly licensed in order to operate that is daycare dog sitting cat sitting etc
Speaking from experience the test you have to pass on Rover in order to become a sitter you are allowed to take as many times as possible until you pass that does not make one fit to be easy consider caring for other people's loved ones. Watching videos going back and answering questions is not proof one is responsible enough. If you don't believe me try it for yourself who's to say one does not have the video running on their iPad looking at the questions being asked on their phone and just scrolling through to get the answers Or failing and going back and trying again and again until they pass that is what makes you a sitter on rover

I have had the worst experience with one of Rover's sitters, Carla B. She works in the States (Atlanta, GA) and Canada (west coast and Ontario), so be aware if you come across her name. 2 things to be aware of, she is a CON ARTIST pretending to be a pet sitter, she abandoned my pets after 1 day of sitting (which was when I was already out of the country so was helpless) and she fakes an emergency to end the job. First she wanted to use the rover website, but as we started talking, she indicated she wanted cash, This is called diverting. Do not pay anyone cash, go through the web site all the time to protect yourself. Use the texting system not whatsapp or email to communicate with the sitter because that's your proof should something go awry with the job, and Also, take a copy of their Identification to confirm the name, address and legitimacy of the person working. It cost me a lot of money to replace her at the last moment when she said that I had 10 minutes to find another sitter, I'm not kidding either! She really said that!, I was totally screwed and spent 2 days while in airports trying to get a sitter while my pets were unattended at home without food or water. Also she took the money and RAN! $700 down the drain, plus the fees for the replacement sitter. Always ALWAYS pay through the website, if the sitter leaves early, the sitter is responsible for the cost of the next sitter. Know your rights when using this website.

Poorly managed site and would not recommend. After booking a dog walker two times they never showed up for the meet and greet. These people are scammers and a complete waste of time. When I thought I found a reliable dog walker he started changing the times, quit after 2 months and then no showed the last two weeks! These people don't care if your dog is walked or they would show up or at least communicate with the owner if they can't make it. I've had better luck finding reliable people on Care.com.

Tried to cancel a dog sit 7 days out due to change of travel plans connected to the coronavirus. Amy B. In Fort Collins Colorado texted me that I could cancel up to 3 days prior for a refund. Four days later I canceled. When I did NOT get a full refund her response was "oh that must have been a typo I meant 8 days. Called Rover customer service and they would not intervene even though they had the text messages with time stamps. This speaks to the integrity of the provider as well as company policy. STAY AWAY

I am appalled on how greedy Rover is. They charge 15% of the booking cost PER DAY. So my dog sitter agreed to charge me £20 a day as I need to have my dog full time, 5 days a week, on day care. So in a month with 22 working days Rover wants me to pay £66 just to book. I have never seen or came across such a greedy service provider. I can understand to charge a % on the booking. But per day? And when you read their Guarantee there are a lot of exclusions. So for £66 which is double to what I pay for my dog insurance you are hardly covered. Very disappointing.

I have a pet sitter that I normally use who was unable to board my dogs for a short trip out of town because she has a newborn and is understandably taking some time off from boarding. So I decided to try Rover to find someone who can board my dogs. I made a reservation through the site with someone who lived very close to me, had a meet and greet with her to give her a chance to meet the dogs and have them meet and interact with her kids, and get everything squared away. That went fine, so I figured we were good. Wrong. A few days later, (literally a week before my trip) I get a message from the sitter saying "something came up" and she can't board my dogs. So now I had to scramble to find a place to board them, during spring break no less. Luckily, I found a place. But I'm highly peeved that the Rover contractor can just cancel so close to the reservation and not be held accountable in any way. If I hadn't been able to find another place I would have literally had to cancel my trip, as I cannot bring three dogs with me. And I wasn't given the opportunity to review the sitter at all, since the reservation was canceled. Sorry, but if they canceled the reservation at the last minute, I should be able to review them to warn others that they might receive the same treatment. Needless to say, I am not going to use Rover again. Not impressed

Horrible, horrible service. Their rover guarantee of safety is worthless. What they don't tell you is that they only cover the vet bill for anything over $250. The pet sitter was nice, but she didn't even notice that my dog had been bitten, was bleeding, and was in pain. By the time that I picked up my dog (only 2 nights there thankfully), the blood on her ear was dry and there was pus from the infection. When I told the sitter about the vet bill, she said to call rover. Now Rover and the pet sitter are avoiding me. This is going to the better business bureau.

I'm so so surprised at all these bad reviews. As the sitter, I maintain the highest standard when boarding pets in my home. Emergencies can and do come up, as most sitters are just regular people who have lives outside of their business but that is no excuse for some of the things I'm reading. As the client hiring a sitter it is your upmost responsibility to make sure you are leaving your pet with someone you trust and have a connection with. It is your responsibility to vet out the people you are leaving your property/home/pet to. Where I am from (near milwaukee, WI) I have never heard such bad things about other Rover sitters.

Full disclosure, I am a Rover sitter. However, I was first a Rover customer. I found two wonderful Rover sitters in my area after I had surgery who came by and walked my dogs when I couldn't. One was a student and one was a retired nurse. One of them suggested I do Rover part-time to supplement my income and I have 90 five-star reviews from the last 3 years.

I take pride in my work and am retired military, so I am detail oriented. And there are ways to make sure that your sitter is doing what they're supposed to do. One, I have a smartlock and a Nest doorbell. I do not give keys out anymore and every single sitter has a code, so I can check when they show up and when they leave. My Nest doorbell verifies that with video.

Two, I have a camera in all common areas to watch my dogs and to make sure my sitter is doing their job. Third, I make sure all my sitters send a ROVER CARD to document they are there the full 30 minutes with my animal. Ask for it at your meet and greet. That way somebody can't stay 14 minutes when you paid for 30 minutes (drop in or walk).

I'm sure people would interview someone who was going to take care of their child, so you have to interview your dog sitter also. I ask DETAILED questions and make sure they understand exactly what I want them to do while I'm away and they are taking care of my animal. I also leave detailed instructions if I go out of town and someone house sits. I'm sure some of my Rover sitters think I'm a bit OCD, but I'd rather be safe than sorry.

I'm very disturbed by some of the stories reported here. I've only had one bad experience with a house sitter who bailed the night before we were due home (it was a 5 day booking, she bailed on day 4 as her bf "came into town."). However, Rover sent over a backup sitter so our vacation was not ruined.

Not every single sitter on Rover is unprofessional. Many of us go above and beyond to take care of our clients. Weed through the undesirables and interview many sitters until you find the right one for your dogs/cats.

We have had so many last-minute cancellations without explanation. Rover does nothing to help. Just today our sitter was supposed to arrive at 12 pm. At 12:05 pm I get a notification that the stay is canceled and received no explanation from the sitter or Rover. Now I have to leave work early to let my dog outside...

Also, most of the time the sitters do not stay the whole time like they've been hired to do. Make sure you have a key code lock and cameras so you can monitor them.

We're done using this service. We need reliability which Rover apparently cannot provide.

Rover is fatally flawed. As an owner looking for services it is not possible to delete responses from potential sitters (even if they have declined). More at issue you cannot review a sitter until you have booked them. Two potential sitters stood me up and a third their dog attacked mine at the meet and greet. Many of the reviews sitters have are from other sitters and what better way to stake someone out to rob then to pretend to be a sitter to find out about a person's plans to be on vacation. Be scared, be very scared.

I'm really shocked and saddened by the amount of bad experiences people are reporting. To those who had a negative experience with your pet under a Rover sitter, I sincerely feel for you, I cannot even imagine. The truth is, these sitters are from a pool of the general public who sign up to become a sitter to choose from. It's an unfortunate fact of life that some people are unprofessional and dishonest.

I want everyone to know there are definitely good people who take this job seriously. Speaking for myself, I've been a Rover dog sitter since 2013 (leaving this review in 2020) with 5 Star reviews. When I created the account, I got a background check and took the very informative online safety course. I'm a dog owner myself, and I enjoy working with my people and animal clients. I have always treated dogs and other animals I care for just as I would care for my own.
If you're new to Rover, you may use code ******* for $20 off your first service. Never expires. Can be used on any Rover sitter. :)

I am deeply disappointed by Rover's lack of accountability, failure to live up their promises and lack of concern regarding my and my dog's safety.
One sitter stopped showing up and when I finally got ahold of her finally informed me without any notice that she was no longer available, period. For over a month I tried to get my keys back and she stopped answering. So this girl has 24/7 unauthorized access to my house and Rover did not care AT ALL. They could have simply comped me fifty dollars to replace the locks, but they called it a property damage issue and stated owners have to pay the first 250 of any property damage. Refused to acknowledge it was a safety issue, not a property damage issue and refused to do anything.
Then a sitter, at a meet and greet, instead of coming into the dog park called my dog into the smaller entrance gate. I thought that was weird but fine, until I realized the outer gate was WIDE OPEN. WTF. Obviously my dog got out and I screamed my head off because my dog has NO RECALL. Thankfully I got him back fairly painlessly but I was very upset and reported it to Rover. Again, they have not done anything and this girl who is so careless, she clearly did not even try to latch the gate, is still walking dogs. It's been 6 weeks and each time I follow up, they send me the same useless language about their privacy policy and state their specialists are doing a "deep dive" into the situation. What a joke. I am deeply disturbed by their callousness and lack of concern. Disgraceful.

My dog caught a fatal disease while being boarded by a Rover.com dog sitter. I noticed that he was not normal when I picked him up from a 7 day stay with a Rover Sitter named Roseli L. In Delray Beach Fl. Near Military Trail and West Atlantic Blvd. When I brought him home, he seemed different. A few hours latter we noticed he was shaking and in pain. We immediately brought him to the Animal Hospital. He was treated with pain meds, and had a blood test. The next day he was worse. We sent him to the main Vet Hospital in West Palm Beach. He died a few hours latter. He was perfecty healthy when we dropped him off. He had been with this Rover Sitter two previous times. With no problem. We suspect that he was poisoned, bitten by a poisonous snake or caught a serious disease from another dog that was in the sitter's house. Neither the sitter or Rover were of any help in this situation. I even paid extra for Vet services through Rover. Also, there is a Vet hospital within walking distance of the sitter's house. I also reminded the sitter that if there was any problem, to use my vet, and he would bill me. The sitter obviously did not check for dogs shots which she is supposed to do. She didn't even ask me about shots. They are supposed to. When at the vet, he was weighed and lost over 2lbs, that alot for a Chihuahua Mix, also his Temp was 103. He must have been in this condition for days, and the sitter did nothing, didn't even contact us. We miss our dog dearly, He was the most beautiful little guy. If you need boarding, please do not work with Rover.com. Spend the extra money and board with a Veterinary Hospital. It would be alot cheaper than loosing your beloved pet, and paying over $5K in Vet fees to try to save him.

Years ago I found a great person on Rover so I tried it again for a 9 day trip. We met twice with the sitter, wrote very detailed instructions to refer to and stressed many times to not let our dogs out of our fenced in 1 acre. The 2nd day of our trip I got a call from a friend, not the sitter, telling me my dogs picture was on Facebook. My good community trying to find his home and owner as he was laying in the middle of the road, hit by a car! My neighbor had CONVINCE the sitter to go with him to the vet's office where my dog was euthanized. The sitter had ONE JOB - keep my dog's alive. He failed miserably and it took me a week to clean my house from all of the dog and cat pee. I must be a terrible judge of character. When I read Rover's policy I decided to not even call them. You have to report this kind of stuff within 48hours and they state that you have to deal with the sitter first to receive any sort of vet bill or cleaning compensation. The sitter's broken down car left oil stains all over my driveway, I'm quite certain the sitter does not have the $2000 I am out thanks to this. I will NEVER, EVER use Rover again.