While going away as a pet parent, the first thing people research is how to find a reputable pet sitter. This search leads many people to the Rover pet sitting site. But in recent years, a handful of pet parents are experiencing their worst nightmare using the service.
Their pets have gone missing, or even inconceivable, they receive the news that their pet has passed away while in the care of a pet sitter.
This is the case with what happened to a two-year-old dog named Togo from Houston, Texas. At the end of June, Togo’s mother, Annette Leturia, released Togo and her other dog, Liam, with a sitter Rover for a week-long vacation.
Days after the vacation, Togo was mysteriously found dead on the bathroom floor at the babysitter’s house. Months later, Leturia still doesn’t know what happened to her beloved dog.
While the site does offer background checks on sitters, some customers question their thoroughness. After Leturia comes to terms with Togo’s death, she decides to conduct an independent background check on the babysitter. What she found was astounding: grand theft and fraud.
“All I can do for Togo is share that story, to warn others to hope this doesn’t happen again,” said Leturia told CNN Business.
In other cases, the dogs went to Rover’s sitter and were never seen again. Unfortunately, this happened to Nia Morgan’s puppy, Zorro, earlier this year in Illinois.
The day before Morgan was due to return from her trip, she was informed that Zorro was “lost” and that the babysitter could not find him. It turns out that Zorro was actually missing on the first day of Morgan’s death and the babysitter had been creating updates for her the whole time.
Rover initially offered a $100 reward for the safe return of the dog and also helped coordinate flyers and an automated call alerting Amber in the area. But to this day, Zorro is still missing.
Lots of people use the service without problems – but it has a dark side, as shown in a recent in-depth report by the company from CNN Business.
Rover spokesman Dave Rosenbaum said in the article: “We are appalled that some pet parents believe we have ceased to be obligated to them. “We will continue to work hard to meet community expectations.”
More than 2 million pet parents have turned to Rover’s network of “trusted babysitters” to book services such as daycare, daycare and boarding, according to the company.
Morgan has create a website and a Facebook page to help spread the word about Zorro – and help spread awareness of the heartbreaking search she’s endured in the months since using Rover.
“Rover continues to issue general statements to the media about their support of my case and others like mine,” Morgan recently said. post on Facebook. “It’s time for them to really step up and make a change.”
H/T: CNN
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