Rover
reviews and complaints

Before you use Rover, there are a few things you should know. First off, you're dealing with small business owners. Rover is just a service that connects you with pet sitters, kind of like a fancy Craigslist. Second, Rover has no control over the people who offer services on their app. They can't hold sitters accountable for anything, even if you pay upfront for their services. This means that if something goes wrong, you're out of luck. Third, you'll never get your money back if something goes wrong. If your sitter doesn't meet your expectations or harms your pet, it's up to them whether or not they want to give you a refund. Finally, this means that sitters can take advantage of pet parents without any consequences.

My husband James and I had a terrible experience with a Rover sitter named Katrina G. We thought she would be perfect for our three German Shepherds because she worked at a doggy daycare during the day. We met with her before we booked her for our wedding and honeymoon and explained how to care for our dogs, especially Roxy, who has a medical condition that makes her vulnerable to bacteria.

When we came back from our honeymoon, our house was a disaster. Mud was everywhere, and our couch was covered in it. We had to spend our last day of vacation cleaning up the mess. We had to mop the floors five times, give each dog a bath, and try to save our couch. We even had to carpet clean our bedroom five times to try to get the mud out.

We knew that our dogs had been left outside for too long because of the size of the holes they dug and the mud on the back door. We also found out that Katrina G had lied to us about having two jobs. She actually had three, and she had a social life too. We don't think she stayed overnight like she was supposed to because our house was so dirty.

The worst part of this experience was that Roxy got sick. She showed signs of neurological distress, which is a warning sign that she had come into contact with bacteria in dirty water. This was unacceptable. We reached out to Rover to file a complaint and demand a refund. We realized that Rover doesn't protect pet owners, only their revenue.

We hope that by sharing our experience, we can warn other pet parents about the potential dangers of using Rover. Their business model is broken and allows sitters to take advantage of the process without any consequences. We don't want anyone else to go through what we did.

I never used a pet sitting service before, so I was a bit hesitant to try Rover. I spent a lot of time on their app searching for someone who could take care of my dog at their home and would only be sitting him at the time. The average cost per day was about $30, but my last resort after everyone said no was the only sitter fitting my criteria that cost $50/day. I asked, and she was available on the dates that I requested. My dog is extremely difficult, and I wanted to make sure this was the best fit. With the higher cost of $50 a day and a promise to be able to handle large dogs, it seemed like I would at least have peace of mind. I also found out that Columbus Day is considered a holiday weekend for Rover, and I was charged an extra $6 a day to use the service, plus the $12 Rover fee. The sitter gave me a coupon for $20 off, but for 6 days, it was still more expensive than normal.

I had this sitter come over to my house first to meet my dog. He was cautious, as usual, but quickly warmed up as I discussed his needs, including medicine. I had already given him his daily dose, so we made a plan to meet again at her home so she could administer the allergy drops. She also noted that this was her parents' home, and they would be home during the day while she works, so he would have around-the-clock supervision. I wanted to make sure my dog, who is 94lbs, would be okay with these people as well. We met at her house, and it went well. She had a separate casita where she stays and would be keeping him most of the time. My one concern was that she cornered him to show how she would "be in control," and he snapped a bit, but she said it's okay, that's just if he gets out of line.

After our visit, I overall wasn't too nervous and felt she was competent to handle my 6-day vacation. I dropped him off early, and she allowed me to show up before my flight before the sun came up. Once there, she provided regular updates and pictures of my dog, and everything seemed fine. I came back late on Tuesday and checked in with her on flight times, even when my flight was delayed. I also updated as I was driving to my home to grab my vehicle to get my dog.

I arrived at her home, grabbed his items, and was walking to the car when I was informed that he had an "accident" with a cactus earlier that day. I asked if he was okay, and she said yes, sore, but okay. I asked if he needed to go to the vet. She said she didn't know. At this point, I came into the main home where he was, and he ran over to me, but you could tell he was in a bit of pain. I immediately felt the cactus on his skin, small pieces. She said that they tried to pull them out as best they could. His paws were swollen, red, raw, and pussing. I spent about 20 minutes pulling spines out while at her home, and I decided to take him home since he was getting irritated. We promptly left, and he could barely get in my truck. I couldn't even pet him on the ride home since I was getting stuck with cactus. I spent time at home pulling them out until he physically was not sitting still.

I ended up asking what cactus, and she had to look it up. At this point, I was definitely irate that I didn't know until I picked him up, he didn't receive vet care, my emergency contacts weren't contacted, and she didn't even know what he got into. This dog has severe allergies, and not one person was notified.

We visited my regular vet, and I contacted Rover about the experience and additional cost. They told me they have a guarantee, but I have to pay $250, and they cover the rest. They reached out to the sitter to see if they wanted to refund any money. They asked me to submit a bill, and it was $93 at my vet to check him over and for antibiotics to prevent infection for spines we didn't find. I also noted that my expensive harness for him was ruined with cactus deep in parts that I couldn't pull out. I also found that his tag had been lost and wasn't with his items.

Rover stated that since the bill was under $250, there was no refund or reimbursement. While I understand that this is their policy, I don't understand why I wouldn't be entitled to a refund from the sitter for part of the costs since it was her job to guarantee the safety of my pet. This is exactly why I hired someone through a company vs. Sally down the street. So, not only did I pay over $300 for his stay with her, $93 vet bill, costs to replace his harness and tags, and taking time off work to take him to the vet, but this person does not have any liability or financial responsibility for somehow letting my dog get into a cactus. She didn't even know what cactus it was... I had to ask.

Rover did offer me a $75 credit if I want to use them again. That must be a joke considering how much I spent with them and then having to pay more since my dog wasn't properly cared for. Why would I ever use this service again?

Word of advice: be careful of these companies who have a "guarantee" but aren't willing to actually take responsibility for sitters that they hire as contractors.

Hey there, I just wanted to share my experience with Rover. I recently had a situation where a customer picked up their dog early and I was unsure if I needed to report it every time. It seemed like a lot of extra work for me as a sitter, and I wasn't sure if I would be reimbursed for my time. The customers were last-minute and fully informed before booking, so there were no surprises on my part.

However, things got a bit complicated when the customers claimed that I had not communicated with them about not being able to provide overnight services, which was not true. I had saved all my texts with these customers and was able to prove that they had other unknown people pick up their dog early in order to avoid an incoming winter storm. It was frustrating to deal with these customers who had questionable emails right from the start, and I felt like Rover could have done more to address the situation.

I also think that Rover should consider "pausing" customers who abuse the system just like they "pause" sitters. If these customers had told me their dog was not house-trained and chewed household items, I would not have taken this dog. He damaged objects and urinated on carpets, which was not a safe situation for all parties involved.

Overall, I care a lot about what I do and taking good care of the dogs entrusted to me. However, this experience was a real turn-off for me and I'm not sure if I will continue to use Rover in the future.

In another situation, I had a dog in my care for eleven hours and gave him a lot of love, walks, food, and play time. However, the customers claimed that their Rover account was being hacked and wrote me they would not be using the Rover emails anymore as a means of our communicating. Fortunately, I saved our texts and was able to prove that the customers had changed their departure time to get an early start out of town to avoid a snowstorm. They never communicated a need of another sitter, and my Rover fee is still $30 for the day whether the overnight for the dog is included or not.

It was frustrating to deal with these customers who were not up front about their dog's behaviors and needs. I believe I was not duly compensated for my service and time, and Rover does not split a day and a night fee. I hope that Rover will consider adding these day versus night categories to their sitter rates to avoid such sitter/customer/Rover problems.

Although this case is closed, it's been a learning experience for me. I love dogs and I love helping people out in this way, but I need to be much more careful about what people I choose to work with and welcome into a private home. It is unfortunate that dog sitters such as myself who enjoy dogs and want to accommodate their people need to be much more on guard as well as charge a higher price for the time commitment involved and the special attention given to each dog and the people involved.

ut didn't watch her because he was busy with the other dogs. This is a serious safety issue and shows a complete disregard for my dog's well-being.

To make matters worse, when I contacted Rover about the damages and issues with Rashad, they were completely unhelpful. They refused to compensate me for the damages to my home and car, and only offered a partial refund for the dog sitting services. They also claimed that they couldn't do anything about Rashad's behavior because he was an independent contractor, even though he was using their platform to find clients. This is unacceptable and shows a lack of responsibility on their part.

Overall, my experience with Rover and Rashad was a complete nightmare. I would never recommend this company to anyone and urge pet owners to be extremely cautious when using their services. It's clear that they prioritize their profits over the safety and well-being of pets and their owners. Save yourself the stress and find a more reliable and trustworthy pet sitter.