My Rover Sitter Killed My Dog
Donation protected
I was going out of town on a 4-day business trip to Burlington VT. I needed a sitter to take care of my precious 12 year old, blind Japanese Chin, Mooshu. We purchased the in-home sitting package because, while he is blind, he knows where everything is in my home and can get around and jump up on furniture with ease.
I reached out to my previous Rover sitter and she was unavailable. I went through a Rover search and found a sitter, Michele Bunting, a woman in her mid-40’s whose profile said she specialized in senior dogs and dogs with special needs. During the meet and greet she told me she lived my town, which I thought would be good because if she left him at least she would be close by.
I left for my trip on Monday and was to return on Friday. Thursday evening, I received a text message from Michele that said Call me ASAP 911! When I called her I asked what was wrong? She sounded distraught and said that Moosh had fallen off her porch. I replied, “Why was he even at your house?!” She told me that she had sent me a text message saying she took him there. This was untrue and even if it was, I did not give consent. I asked if he was OK and what was wrong. She said that he wasn’t in pain to the touch and wasn’t yelping, but that his gums were white, and he was panting. She said she called the Rover vet and they told her to take him to the hospital. She then told me she didn’t want to waste time going back to my house to get the emergency contact information and asked where to take him. I told her the name of the emergency room in my town and she said, “I didn’t want to drive that far.” I said, “Where do you live?!” and she said the name of my town. I asked, “Where are you now?” and she said highway 400. If you live in my town and are on that highway there are only 2 exits.
None of this made sense to me. She was too distraught for this to be minor. I asked, “Did you see him fall off your porch?” She said that she stepped away and that he must have followed the cat out the door. Moosh is terrified of cats! I can’t believe he was around a cat! Then I asked, “How far did he fall?”
She said “Two stories.”
I snapped. But I realized that my dog was still in danger and needed help. I pulled it together. And told her to get safely and quickly to the ER. That I would call them and give them all the information they need and when they get there he can go right in.
I called them and told them the situation. That a sitter took him from my home without my permission and he fell 2 stories. They told me if he was paralyzed or his back was broken I needed to take him to another facility. I was horrified. I called the sitter back to find out and when she answered, I asked where she was. She told me she had stopped to pick up a friend. I yelled at her “Why would you stop?!” She said that her friend knew people at that hospital. My dog is in critical condition in her car and she is stopping. I was so angry I asked her to put the friend on the phone. I couldn’t talk to her anymore. I asked the friend how he looked, if he was paralyzed or if his back was broken and she said he looked fine. He was laying and didn’t seem like he was in pain. I asked them to put him on speaker phone.
I told him the litany of praises I used to say to him every night. I told him "You are so handsome, and so sweet, and so good, you are so pretty, so wonderful, and so funny, and so goofy, you are so loving, and so silly, and so precious, and so perfect. And Mommie loves you with her whole hearty heart, and her whole souly wol and Mommie will love you forever and ever and ever until the end of time because you are my perfect, precious Little angel." I told him he needed to be strong and brave and that Mommie was coming as soon as she could and that I loved him.
At that point they told me that he tried to jump in the phone. That broke my heart beyond repair. I told them to get to the hospital immediately and hung up. I called my friend and told her what happened. She offered to go to the hospital to see how he was and to take the key away from the sitter. I was so grateful. I asked her if she could take Moosh home with her for the night until I could get there tomorrow. She said she would.
I called the sitter back to make sure they got there. She said that they were there and that they took him from her arms and he was now on IVs. In my shock and ignorance, I asked why he was on IVs. I don’t know what I had thought, maybe he had landed gently on pine straw. If he wasn’t in pain and he seemed ok and he was trying to jump in the phone he had to be OK.
I called the travel agent and told them to get me home ASAP. I started packing and they told me that I missed the last flight out and that the earliest flight was 6AM. I received the call from the hospital a few minutes later and it was the doctor. He said, “when we received him he was in critical condition. We hooked him up to IVs and did everything we could. I tried to ultrasound him but it was too late. I’m so sorry but he passed.” I couldn’t understand his words. All I could say was “Wow”. I was in complete disbelief. I asked him how it happened. I didn’t understand. He said that the cause of death was head trauma from a 2 story fall onto concrete. “Concrete?!” I exclaimed. I said “What?” He said when the sitter came in she said he had fallen 2 stories on to concrete. At that moment I was on the 2nd story of a hotel room looking out on to concrete. I almost threw up. I asked her how I could get him. I needed to see him. I needed to see his body. She said that they close by 8am and I told her I wouldn’t be back until after 8am. She said that they could place him in a cooler and that my friend could bring him home that night. My friend went and got a cooler and they packed him with great care to bring him home.
I hung up and called Rover.com. When they answered I said, “What happens when you kill my dog??” She said “oh, I am so sorry for your loss.” She asked for my contact information. She said they would pay for the after-care costs associated with his death and I said, “I assume you will be paying for everything” and she said “well, your case was open with another agent. She will be able to answer any specific questions related to your case.” I asked to be put on the phone with her and she said that she had stepped away for her break. (Because everybody tonight is stepping away from their responsibilities.) I asked if she was returning that evening and she said yes. I told her that I wanted a call back that night. I said to her that this sitter needs to be taken off the site. That her gross incompetence, lies, and inability to handle emergency situations requires her to be removed. No other owner should ever have to go through this. They said that there would be a full investigation. That night Rover never called me back.
When my sister came down the next day she found where the sitter lived. She lied about the town she lived in and we could see that the railings were sound and thin. There was no way my 13 lb boy could just fall off that balcony. Which means worst case she threw him or best case he was terrified about where he was, and she picked him up and he kicked off of her and fell over the balcony.
Then the hospital called and told me that the sitter left a nasty 1-star review on their website.
That weekend I received an email from Rover, ironically the trust and safety team, that said “Our condolence to you and your family”. Seriously?! They killed my family. They never called me back and then decided to send a templatized form letter to me extending their condolence and saying they would pay for medical and aftercare costs.
A week and a day after he died, Friday, Rover sent another email and left a voicemail. Due to a prior job commitment where I was working 12-hour days I was unable to process his death, come to terms with what happened or bury him. He was cremated the day after I received their call. The email said “I do not wish at all to disturb you or your family, so will hold off on any additional contact. Please know that we are here for you as much as we can possibly be, if and when you are ready. Words can't express how sorry I am for your loss.
Please take gentle note that within the next few days you will receive a separate email which asks about your experience with myself and our process in supporting you through this situation, via a short, optional survey. The survey is not related to your sitter, but rather your communication with our team. We humbly appreciate any feedback or concerns you wish to share about your interactions with us.”
They are sending me a survey? They have never talked to me?! They killed my dog and now it is if they are closing the case and trying to wrap it up with a survey.
I emailed them back saying I would be in contact.
Eventually, when I took care of the main parts of the aftercare, buying an urn, getting it engraved, etc. I reached out to rover. I talked to an agent and again Stephanie was not available, and I requested a call back. I asked the agent about the sitter. The most important thing is that that woman never be able to take care of a pet. He told me that due to their privacy policy they will not disclose information on another “users” account. He then put me on hold came back and told me that if I couldn’t find her on the site or rebook her she wasn’t on the site.
I reached out to the VP of operations at Rover. I received a call back from Holly and she told me they removed the sitter from their website. They said if I provided an itemized list of expenses she would talk to her management about approving the expenses outside of the medical and after-care.
Rover then offered to pay for half of what I submitted (which was less than $5,000) and said it was their final offer, told me to think about it and sent me a non-disclosure that would sign my rights away to be able to tell my story, inform other pet owners, and releases them from any and all future claims. I would not sign it. How many pet owners in their darkest hour and greatest moment of grief have signed their rights away to tell their story? What is terrifying is how many dog deaths and injuries have been covered up by this practice? We may never know the real number of dog deaths or injuries.
I sent them the itemized expenses with the hope that they would do the right thing. That through the paying of the full amount it was a symbolic gesture that they were taking accountability for what happened to Mooshu and their role in it. That is not the case. To my knowledge nothing has happened to the sitter beyond removal from the site.
This company needs to be held accountable for their actions. They market and promote themselves as a trusted, safe option for pet parents looking for a sitter. Their website claims that only 20% of applicants are approved as sitters and 80% are vetted out. They say every house sitter on the site has been hand-reviewed and approved by the Rover team and that 95% of those sitters get 5-star ratings. If that is true how do they have so many claims of death, injury and problems? When you look at the fine print in the Terms of Service you realize they are nothing more than a place where pet owners and sitters meet, and payment is taken. They are not accountable for anything else.
When I chose a sitter that specialized in dogs with special needs and senior dogs, I thought that was vetted. When I paid for the house-sitting package on Rover I thought there was a policy that the sitter would stay in my home. I was tragically mistaken. PLEASE do not make the same mistake I did. DO NOT user Rover.
I am raising funds for a marketing campaign against Rover as well as for any legal fees incurred through this process. Rover is a Goliath company silencing victims through non-disclosures. Media attention needs to be brought on the dangers of Rover. Please help us save the lives of pets and the suffering of their owners through helping to fund a media campaign against Rover. If we can save just one dog it will be worth it. Any amount you can give will help. THANK YOU so much for your donation and listening to my story.
All unused fund will go to PAWS Atlanta – a No kill shelter in Atlanta, GA.
I reached out to my previous Rover sitter and she was unavailable. I went through a Rover search and found a sitter, Michele Bunting, a woman in her mid-40’s whose profile said she specialized in senior dogs and dogs with special needs. During the meet and greet she told me she lived my town, which I thought would be good because if she left him at least she would be close by.
I left for my trip on Monday and was to return on Friday. Thursday evening, I received a text message from Michele that said Call me ASAP 911! When I called her I asked what was wrong? She sounded distraught and said that Moosh had fallen off her porch. I replied, “Why was he even at your house?!” She told me that she had sent me a text message saying she took him there. This was untrue and even if it was, I did not give consent. I asked if he was OK and what was wrong. She said that he wasn’t in pain to the touch and wasn’t yelping, but that his gums were white, and he was panting. She said she called the Rover vet and they told her to take him to the hospital. She then told me she didn’t want to waste time going back to my house to get the emergency contact information and asked where to take him. I told her the name of the emergency room in my town and she said, “I didn’t want to drive that far.” I said, “Where do you live?!” and she said the name of my town. I asked, “Where are you now?” and she said highway 400. If you live in my town and are on that highway there are only 2 exits.
None of this made sense to me. She was too distraught for this to be minor. I asked, “Did you see him fall off your porch?” She said that she stepped away and that he must have followed the cat out the door. Moosh is terrified of cats! I can’t believe he was around a cat! Then I asked, “How far did he fall?”
She said “Two stories.”
I snapped. But I realized that my dog was still in danger and needed help. I pulled it together. And told her to get safely and quickly to the ER. That I would call them and give them all the information they need and when they get there he can go right in.
I called them and told them the situation. That a sitter took him from my home without my permission and he fell 2 stories. They told me if he was paralyzed or his back was broken I needed to take him to another facility. I was horrified. I called the sitter back to find out and when she answered, I asked where she was. She told me she had stopped to pick up a friend. I yelled at her “Why would you stop?!” She said that her friend knew people at that hospital. My dog is in critical condition in her car and she is stopping. I was so angry I asked her to put the friend on the phone. I couldn’t talk to her anymore. I asked the friend how he looked, if he was paralyzed or if his back was broken and she said he looked fine. He was laying and didn’t seem like he was in pain. I asked them to put him on speaker phone.
I told him the litany of praises I used to say to him every night. I told him "You are so handsome, and so sweet, and so good, you are so pretty, so wonderful, and so funny, and so goofy, you are so loving, and so silly, and so precious, and so perfect. And Mommie loves you with her whole hearty heart, and her whole souly wol and Mommie will love you forever and ever and ever until the end of time because you are my perfect, precious Little angel." I told him he needed to be strong and brave and that Mommie was coming as soon as she could and that I loved him.
At that point they told me that he tried to jump in the phone. That broke my heart beyond repair. I told them to get to the hospital immediately and hung up. I called my friend and told her what happened. She offered to go to the hospital to see how he was and to take the key away from the sitter. I was so grateful. I asked her if she could take Moosh home with her for the night until I could get there tomorrow. She said she would.
I called the sitter back to make sure they got there. She said that they were there and that they took him from her arms and he was now on IVs. In my shock and ignorance, I asked why he was on IVs. I don’t know what I had thought, maybe he had landed gently on pine straw. If he wasn’t in pain and he seemed ok and he was trying to jump in the phone he had to be OK.
I called the travel agent and told them to get me home ASAP. I started packing and they told me that I missed the last flight out and that the earliest flight was 6AM. I received the call from the hospital a few minutes later and it was the doctor. He said, “when we received him he was in critical condition. We hooked him up to IVs and did everything we could. I tried to ultrasound him but it was too late. I’m so sorry but he passed.” I couldn’t understand his words. All I could say was “Wow”. I was in complete disbelief. I asked him how it happened. I didn’t understand. He said that the cause of death was head trauma from a 2 story fall onto concrete. “Concrete?!” I exclaimed. I said “What?” He said when the sitter came in she said he had fallen 2 stories on to concrete. At that moment I was on the 2nd story of a hotel room looking out on to concrete. I almost threw up. I asked her how I could get him. I needed to see him. I needed to see his body. She said that they close by 8am and I told her I wouldn’t be back until after 8am. She said that they could place him in a cooler and that my friend could bring him home that night. My friend went and got a cooler and they packed him with great care to bring him home.
I hung up and called Rover.com. When they answered I said, “What happens when you kill my dog??” She said “oh, I am so sorry for your loss.” She asked for my contact information. She said they would pay for the after-care costs associated with his death and I said, “I assume you will be paying for everything” and she said “well, your case was open with another agent. She will be able to answer any specific questions related to your case.” I asked to be put on the phone with her and she said that she had stepped away for her break. (Because everybody tonight is stepping away from their responsibilities.) I asked if she was returning that evening and she said yes. I told her that I wanted a call back that night. I said to her that this sitter needs to be taken off the site. That her gross incompetence, lies, and inability to handle emergency situations requires her to be removed. No other owner should ever have to go through this. They said that there would be a full investigation. That night Rover never called me back.
When my sister came down the next day she found where the sitter lived. She lied about the town she lived in and we could see that the railings were sound and thin. There was no way my 13 lb boy could just fall off that balcony. Which means worst case she threw him or best case he was terrified about where he was, and she picked him up and he kicked off of her and fell over the balcony.
Then the hospital called and told me that the sitter left a nasty 1-star review on their website.
That weekend I received an email from Rover, ironically the trust and safety team, that said “Our condolence to you and your family”. Seriously?! They killed my family. They never called me back and then decided to send a templatized form letter to me extending their condolence and saying they would pay for medical and aftercare costs.
A week and a day after he died, Friday, Rover sent another email and left a voicemail. Due to a prior job commitment where I was working 12-hour days I was unable to process his death, come to terms with what happened or bury him. He was cremated the day after I received their call. The email said “I do not wish at all to disturb you or your family, so will hold off on any additional contact. Please know that we are here for you as much as we can possibly be, if and when you are ready. Words can't express how sorry I am for your loss.
Please take gentle note that within the next few days you will receive a separate email which asks about your experience with myself and our process in supporting you through this situation, via a short, optional survey. The survey is not related to your sitter, but rather your communication with our team. We humbly appreciate any feedback or concerns you wish to share about your interactions with us.”
They are sending me a survey? They have never talked to me?! They killed my dog and now it is if they are closing the case and trying to wrap it up with a survey.
I emailed them back saying I would be in contact.
Eventually, when I took care of the main parts of the aftercare, buying an urn, getting it engraved, etc. I reached out to rover. I talked to an agent and again Stephanie was not available, and I requested a call back. I asked the agent about the sitter. The most important thing is that that woman never be able to take care of a pet. He told me that due to their privacy policy they will not disclose information on another “users” account. He then put me on hold came back and told me that if I couldn’t find her on the site or rebook her she wasn’t on the site.
I reached out to the VP of operations at Rover. I received a call back from Holly and she told me they removed the sitter from their website. They said if I provided an itemized list of expenses she would talk to her management about approving the expenses outside of the medical and after-care.
Rover then offered to pay for half of what I submitted (which was less than $5,000) and said it was their final offer, told me to think about it and sent me a non-disclosure that would sign my rights away to be able to tell my story, inform other pet owners, and releases them from any and all future claims. I would not sign it. How many pet owners in their darkest hour and greatest moment of grief have signed their rights away to tell their story? What is terrifying is how many dog deaths and injuries have been covered up by this practice? We may never know the real number of dog deaths or injuries.
I sent them the itemized expenses with the hope that they would do the right thing. That through the paying of the full amount it was a symbolic gesture that they were taking accountability for what happened to Mooshu and their role in it. That is not the case. To my knowledge nothing has happened to the sitter beyond removal from the site.
This company needs to be held accountable for their actions. They market and promote themselves as a trusted, safe option for pet parents looking for a sitter. Their website claims that only 20% of applicants are approved as sitters and 80% are vetted out. They say every house sitter on the site has been hand-reviewed and approved by the Rover team and that 95% of those sitters get 5-star ratings. If that is true how do they have so many claims of death, injury and problems? When you look at the fine print in the Terms of Service you realize they are nothing more than a place where pet owners and sitters meet, and payment is taken. They are not accountable for anything else.
When I chose a sitter that specialized in dogs with special needs and senior dogs, I thought that was vetted. When I paid for the house-sitting package on Rover I thought there was a policy that the sitter would stay in my home. I was tragically mistaken. PLEASE do not make the same mistake I did. DO NOT user Rover.
I am raising funds for a marketing campaign against Rover as well as for any legal fees incurred through this process. Rover is a Goliath company silencing victims through non-disclosures. Media attention needs to be brought on the dangers of Rover. Please help us save the lives of pets and the suffering of their owners through helping to fund a media campaign against Rover. If we can save just one dog it will be worth it. Any amount you can give will help. THANK YOU so much for your donation and listening to my story.
All unused fund will go to PAWS Atlanta – a No kill shelter in Atlanta, GA.
Organizer
Colleen Nolan
Organizer
Atlanta, GA
