Rover.com Reviews

On 6/18/19, Tuesday, at 10 pm, our Rover sitter lost our 2 golden retrievers while letting them out for a late-night potty. Because my husband and I were on vacation, they were staying at her apartment complex and they reportedly ran towards the corner of Babcock and Camp Bullis Rd.

The sitters lived in a gated apartment complex with a gated dog park behind her building. Instead of using that lit green space, she brought our dogs outside the fence onto a pitch dark lawn near the road and woods, carrying both extend leashes in one hand after fireworks were set off by Six Flags just an hour earlier. She was informed Ripley was scared of the dark on paper and I believe verbally as well but we have no proof of the verbal. She said she looked until 3 am. Later in her rebuttal to our review on her Rover profile, she said she wasn’t informed and deflected her negligence onto our dogs/lac of info. We are not allowed to respond to it.

My husband and I caught the next plane home. We saw the sitter once but never seen her face again. Most of, if not all, the conversations were initiated by us. There was little communication from her and it seemed forced. We had a news interview and I (Tricha S) called her out on her lack of participation and she became abrasive, acted victimized, accusatory, and added to our stress rather than helping us. After that, she was almost impossible to talk to in a constructive manner because she was so uncooperative. Please note, we asked for a picture of the dogs the day before they were lost and she did not give us any.

Rover printed flyers for us, made a few robot phone calls, called nearby sitters to help look (not one shown up), offered a $100 reward and said they looked online. At week 3, they stopped what little help they offered per policy. We have requested additional search services but they refused. They told us they may reimburse us for some vet bills or will offer us the worth of the dogs if they are found dead. So since week 3, we have been on our own.

There was a sighting of 2 golden retrievers running around a baseball field alone very close to where she lives earlier the day she claims she lost them by a gentleman that confirmed his story twice with us and once with a supporter of ours. Our PI said he thinks we should take that particular tip seriously. If it is true, that means she lost them much earlier than she says she did and was attempting to cover it up.

Rover never shut down her profile (that we can tell) and just days later she was meeting new clients. We asked Rover if they would tell us about her background check or if she had prior incidences and they would not. I felt it was very relevant to know if she did.

This is my understanding, but I could be wrong, Rover is a bait and switch company. Basically, they make these commercials of assurance, trust, and responsibility and take credit for that. IMO, almost like an insurance or liable company but the moment anything goes wrong however, all legality is placed on the sitter even though they take 20%+ of their fees.

We have been told that we can't sue Rover but only the sitter for a maximum of $5k. With lawyer/legal costs and the long drawn-out process of suing someone that might not even have the money/you might not even win, it's better to take the "dead dog money". The thing is, again, as far as I know (could be wrong) they have you sign a non-disclosure agreement at that time so you are unable to tell anyone about it. To me, this is super shady stuff and it makes me wonder how many other people have gone through this with Rover?

We have a community behind us in which has got the attention of other rover clients that have called up sobbing because they did this to them too. Its absolutely horrific and something needs to be done.

Looking for other Rover clients to talk.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

My dog caught a fatal disease while being boarded by a Rover.com dog sitter named Roseli in Delray Beach, FL, 33445. I noticed that he was not normal when I picked him up from a 7-day stay with a Rover Sitter in Delray Beach, FL near Military Trail and West Atlantic Blvd. When I brought him home, he seemed different. A few hours later 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 later. He was perfectly 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 dog 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's a lot 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 a lot cheaper than losing your beloved pet, and paying over $5K in Vet fees to try to save him. Rover.com does not stand by its guarantee...and this sitter is back in service after being off for a couple of weeks. That must be Rover's cooling-off period policy.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

Rover is absolutely not safe and I have all the proof.

The sitter responsible for permanently paralyzing my dog is still available and recommended for hire on Rover’s website.

You have no idea if any sitter has a prior record of complaints, incidents or accidents, because Rover will NOT disclose that information.

Even worse, they won't remove those sitters even when they've apologized for a sitter paralyzing a dog in her care.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

As a Rover sitter myself, whenever I speak with potential clients I always let them know what environment we have at home - I have one dog, I am not boarding or watching any other dogs, etc.

I booked with a woman who did not let me know she had any dogs. Her profile said no pets and she did not inform me she was hosting other dogs.

Though my dog gets along with other dogs - I am only comfortable with booking a reservation with an owner who has a dog because she would be able to watch her own and mine. I am not comfortable with several other strangers' dogs in the home with only one supervisor.

The day of the booking, a few hours before drop off, I inform the sitter I'll let her know when I'm on my way. She adds "I'm boarding two other dogs, they're playful and friendly."

She doesn't give more information until I ask, and she responds, "they've just been chilling all day."

1. She should have let me know before I even booked.

2. She did not give a thorough response.

I contacted the manager of Rover and she word for word said to me, "You have a responsibility to ask the sitter if she has any other dogs."

Essentially blaming me for not asking - or rather, for trusting what the sitter listed on her profile: "has no pets."

It is common courtesy and should be a standard to let the potential client know what environment they are stepping into.

The manager refused to refund me and blamed me for not asking if she had any dogs - even though her profile listed she had no dogs, and doesn't even state that she hosts multiple dogs.

I contacted another woman to re-book a reservation, and the first thing she asked me was, "Is your dog ok to play with other doggies? We are boarding one at the moment."

THAT'S how you communicate. As a sitter myself, I can 100% say it is the sitter's responsibility to let other owners know what environment they have at home. It's common sense.

OWNERS, BEWARE. There are responsible dog sitters on Rover but the system will not protect them - they only care about making money. The manger is disgusting and blamed the customer for not asking the sitter to disclose something she would have shared right off the bat.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

Three days into a one week in house sitting, they lost my dog! Sitter decided to let him off leash after I specifically instructed him never to let them off leash. I'm looking into legal action now as this is unbelievable and not what is represented in level of care.

If you love your dog, find someone else!

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

Our perfectly healthy dog collapsed and died shortly after getting her back from a Rover.com sitter. Rover.com refused to answer our questions or help in any way. I would not recommend Rover.com to anyone. Our hearts are broken and Rover.com does not act like it cares.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

I paid for the sitter to remain at my home. We have security cameras all around the perimeter of the house (the sitter was apprised of this) and they documented the absence of the sitter on the first night. When she failed to walk the dogs, keeping one locked up in a small room for 14 hours, we fired her. Rover claimed that the sitter was an independent contractor and that they could not refund all of our money even though there was a clear breach of our agreement with them. After numerous email interactions, as a "one-time customer service gesture," the company agreed to refund my money. Refunding my money for services not provided, neglect of my dogs bordering on abuse was a "one-time customer service gesture?" I will not be using this service again and advise potential customers to consider how they responded to this situation: Is this a company with which you want to entrust your pets?

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

Rover.com should never be trusted. The promises "local, loving pet care" and what I got was the opposite. My dog was so badly neglected that it’s criminal animal abuse. I needed to board my dog for 28 days and when I got my 9-pound dog back he had lost 16% of his body weight. He was dehydrated and in deplorable condition. I rushed him to the vet who was horrified by his condition.

I filed a complaint with Rover as they have a guarantee to cover vet bills. Followed all of their long list of requirements to get some of the $900 in vet bills paid back and in the end they came up with a BS reason that they won’t explain. That I’d have to file an appeal and blocked my emails to the person handling my claim. I have a statement from my vet stating the facts of the condition my dog was in on the day after I got him back. I have videos showing he was skin and bones and very weak, covered in fleas.

Please spread the word and don’t ever use Rover.com or trust their guarantee.

I have the evidence and I don’t mind sharing it.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

Been trying to register but the site does not seem to be working. I could not reach a real person so I started to do some research online and was shocked to read about so many people who are having so many issues with this company. Thanks but no thanks.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

I will never recommend anyone to work for Rover. A customer complained a dog was sick in my care and that was far from the truth. I am owed 6 doggie daycare days. They won't pay me because there isn't any proof but I have an email saying those days have been booked. I worked them. I have pictures. They closed my account and told me I am banned from being a sitter. If I did something wrong - especially when you work for a company for over 3 years, you get a warning before you get fired. When you choose strict policies about cancellations - it's BS you don't get paid a percent like it claims. You lose money. As a sitter, if you're watching a dog - you shouldn't lose money if your dog is out of control, or if dog is argusive. I only watch one dog at a time or one family at a time. So if you book time and dog has to leave early because of behavioral issues, why should I lose out on income. I also had to pay PayPal fees to receive my money. So they were taking 25% plus I was paying PayPal their fees to get paid.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

My experience with Rover was horrible. They claim to check backgrounds. They claim to have guaranteed service. Nothing is further from the truth. I had a problem where my sitter didn't uphold the agreement we had. I was 500 miles from home and had to find someone else to watch my dog on the fly. I asked for my money back and Rover told me I should talk it out with the sitter as they are all independent contractors. Rover takes your money before the service is given. But when there is bad service, they don't want to be part of giving you your money back. They are the worst. Buyer beware.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

I left my 3 dogs in the care of a lying pet sitter who watched my home and dogs for four days. I had a security camera going recording the front entry and sound.

The first night the camera went blurry. I listened and heard her and a man who was uninvited in my home talking about the camera and to look for more. Then it went blurry but I heard them whispering about it.

Then they stayed in the house next door and left my dogs alone for 4 nights in the home. They were not allowed to stay in my guest house next door! I am very upset and will never use this service again after paying $120 a day.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

A sitter falsified her home details and allowed a cat to attack my bulldog while on leash, resulting in 15+ puncture wounds in the face, neck, and arms. $224 in vet bills and a week off of work to care for my dog, Rover claims no liability and is allowing the sitter to continue to book clients, failing to protect animals from harm at the hands of negligent hosts. They will not conduct a review or suspend the account, nor are they willing to take any steps to rectify the issue with this particular sitters profile and advertisement of safe services. Neither the sitter or Rover have followed up regarding the health of my dog since I’ve taken her back home.

Rover promotes animal abuse for profits, I will not use the app in the future and will instead contact one of the good pet sitters directly to cut out any chance of Rover making money.

Terrible experience, a dog services company that condones violence and harm to animals - avoid at all costs.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

The worst service I have ever gotten. I have 2 dogs and when contacting the sitter I had advised the type dogs I had and advised the age, one of the dogs is younger, never away from me, a little spoiled too. I had asked if he had experience with that and if he was ok with it, the sitter said was ok and I could book the stay. I had to book a flight last minute because my grandmother had passed away, the only reason why I would leave my dogs with someone I didn’t know, and I was confirmed that it was ok, and my booking was accepted.

When I get to the house to drop off my dogs, no yard with a proper fence, there was no gate, the only gate was a table and some chair preventing any dog jumping the house, one lie to start with because in the profile it says fenced yard. Secondly, it said he only has 2 dogs, which is a lie, there were 4 dogs in the house at that time I arrived. For the size of the house and the backyard, this person has clearly overbooked, however, I was not advised of any of this when I booked. I dropped my dogs off with some concern but reviews on the website were good and I have heard good things from Rover services.

I was getting ready to leave to the airport and I get a message (30 minutes after dropping my dogs) saying the dog was barking too much and scratching the door and that he was trying, and he couldn’t keep my dogs, I would have to pick them up. Of course, I went to get them, I’m not going to leave them with someone who doesn’t know what commitment is and that doesn’t want to take care of them. Clearly this person doesn’t have as much experience as he was advertising because in 30 minutes, did you even try or did you just sit on the sofa doing nothing? Because if you leave them by themselves, of course they are going to be bored, he didn’t even try to play with them or go for a walk.

I asked any dog owner or anyone who uses this service, are you paying for someone to just take your pet and do NOTHING or are you paying for them to be taken care of and give, attention and to play with them. You don’t know when are you going to get a call letting you know they are not able to take care of your pet, you may be just a few minutes away (thak God I WAS), or you can be miles away in an AIRPLANE and you can’t do anything, because Rover is not someone you rely on, never, this person who says he is a dog sitter, don’t TRUST it, happened once will happen again.

I have had dogs all my life and I babysit for friends when they travel also, and if you don’t give them attention and play with them, they are not going to behave, especially when they are young dogs. 30 MINUTES IS A DISGRACE.

I lost my flight (I have lost $ 1550 from my flight tickets), such terrible service provided by Rover. Rover is who hires these people and incorrect information is provided to the customer. I’m glad it happened when I was still in Canada and I could go pick my dogs, what would happen if I was away and not able to pick them up as fast as I did, that feeling that someone could do something so wrong against your loved ones, because my dogs are part of my family, they are not just dogs for me, much more than that.

I DO NOT RECOMMEND ROVER OR THIS SITTER.

Thank you.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

We booked a doggy daycare service with Rover. Our sitter ghosted us last second. We drove to the address she gave us to drop off our dog at the agreed-upon time, only to realize that address didn't exist. She would not pick up her phone. I had travel plans and my boyfriend needed to be at work, and we were left scrambling to figure out what to do with our dog last second. Eventually, Rover refunded me, but they did not cancel the booking, meaning our "sitter" still profited. Rover did not hold her accountable in any way. She and other "sitters" may do this regularly on this app, basically making money from scamming people. This app enables people to easily to this with no repercussions. I would be extremely wary to trust their sitters. I'm not sure what qualifications, if any, people need to have to register as sitters. Our day was messed up and hectic, but it could honestly go much worse if the "sitter" had more nefarious intentions. I would strongly advise against using Rover, as they do not have any standards or accountability for their sitters.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

I've had a few great sitters on Rover, but when I booked a stay this past weekend, my sitter took a photo of the instructions, including my address and phone number, to show me she had it. Rover then shared that private information in their public Rover Reel, which ANYONE can see, even without an account. I reached out to them as soon as I noticed this and they said they corrected it. I checked and it was still up. I reached out again and asked again for them to take down the Reel. A few hours later, it was finally taken down with no apologies, just some explanation that IF that had happened, it would not have been shared (although I confirmed it was, my friends could see it while not logged in). She stated that I should have marked that photo as private. So, I guess it's my fault they publicly shared my information. Cool.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

Our experience with KristyAnn was so bad that we actually canceled her services in the middle of the reservation! And called Rover to complain (not that it did any good). She kept having to reschedule coming over to meet me and my pets so I should have known then it was going to be a problem.

She agreed to come to our house 3 times a day for 30 minutes each but was only coming for 14-20 minutes at a time and was coming at midnight and 2 am. My dog is old so this was hard on her. The final straw was when she didn’t show up for the morning feeding/medicine dose until 11:30, which meant my dog hadn’t been out in almost 12 hours. Her coming and goings daily were so sporadic and she was not staying as we agreed and paid for so we felt she was not giving our pets the best care and safety so we terminated the contract mid-week.

She has hundreds of great reviews but if you read them carefully they are for her watching pets in her home not in yours! There was another complaint against her for the very same issues we had and I wished I saw it before I hired and paid her. I’d never recommended KristyAnn or Rover.com again.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

I was very disappointed with Rover.com. The sitter I contracted with canceled a day before my vacation! The site offered to help find another sitter, but they didn't respond when I said that I would like help finding a replacement. I was able to find someone on my own. Won't waste my time with this site again.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

Tried Rover for the FIRST time and SOOOOOOOOOOOO disappointed. Will not be using them ever again. I booked with someone who was supposed to meet me. She canceled on me three times. Two days before I was supposed to leave I messaged her and she ASSURED me she would be here the next day. I told her if she couldn't do it to let me know so that I would still have time to find someone else. At 6:30 pm, FOURTEEN hours before I have to leave, she cancels on me! When I call Rover, customer service was very unhelpful, telling me that their pet sitters are "independent contractors". So basically they allow "pet sitters" to use their name and their platform but they don't care about the completely unprofessional behavior of their pet sitters! I've used other sites in the past that were way more helpful and concerned about the people that were using their website and would never allow behavior like this!

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

This company is untrustworthy and terrible at maintaining, managing, and supporting their relationships with their contractors. They do not screen or background check who they allow to become a sitter. Their customer support team is untrained and will only regurgitate email and script templates regardless of your situation or issue. I reiterate they will NOT provide you, your business, your pet, or any emergencies any support.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

Other than the fact that I was given a credit for a future petsitter, other than that, the experience has been very poor, to say the least. My previous pet sitter Brittney D. was terrible, left my cat too dehydrate with barely any water, even though she has kidney disease and could have died, and had a time-released water jug that only had to be filled once; left my house a mess with filthy litter boxes and feces all over the house, without picking any of it up. Then didn't return my keys or even responded to me for 6 months when asked where my keys were.

Rover, who I had contacted several times, told me that they were trying to contact Brittney but didn't tell me anything about what happened to my key. Meanwhile, I finally get a hold of Brittney (6 months later) and she tells me that she told Rover that she had lost the key. I had not heard anything from Rover about the resolution of this issue based on their protocol of "confidentiality." However, in the meantime, I worried for 6 months about this pet sitter breaking into my house...And on top of it, I received a correspondence 6 months later that said that they had "read through my correspondence" as though that is not considered confidential? Which I find to be hypocritical. Of the several emails I had gotten 6 months ago they had told me repeatedly that they were attempting to contact Brittney, yet I had heard no resolution on the issue of my missing key. Why tell me you are trying to contact her when you were planning on telling me nothing anyway? Why tell me those conversations are confidential but read through my personal correspondence anyway?

Then Rover had the gall to defend her in my previous email, saying "it looks like Brittney has discussed the circumstances with you as best as she is able." (Which isn't true since it took her 6 months to contact me!!!) On top of this, Brittney is still working for Rover and still has an active account even though one of the comments on her page explicitly states that she has lost keys before and that person had to rekey their house (like I have had to do, which cost me $75). She is obviously not a responsible pet sitter and could have seriously harmed my animal and on top of that could have broken into my house or this other person's house. And yet she is still employed by Rover?

All of the makes me very skeptical of Rover and how they operate as a company. This is also NOT how you treat your customers. I am the child of a business owner and we believed in honesty and integrity and putting the customer first. This is NOT putting your customer first and this is not how a company, particularly a company that deals with people's lives (and animal's lives) should operate.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

I hold Rover responsible for the death of one of my dogs. I hired a husband and wife from Rover to watch my four dogs on Christmas Eve as I visited my family out of town. They failed to give my dog pain meds, threw another dog's meds into his water dish and then notified me that it was not like they had beaten my pets so why was I complaining. Despite complaints to Rover I was told that this couple was allowed to continue to provide services for Rover as they "had not killed my dogs while on my property." I was never able to fully get my dog's pain management back to where it should have been and he died. DO NOT USE ROVER.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

My dog was killed by his Rover sitter. I paid for in-home sitting and she took my blind, 12-year-old dog from my home without my permission to her home where he "fell" off a 2-story balcony on to concrete. Except, he didn't fit through the railing.

Rover took no accountability and offered half of the expenses of his death. The condition of taking the money they offer in their guarantee? Signing a non-disclosure so you can never warn another dog owner about the dangers of Rover.com. They try to buy your silence and that is why no one knows the true number of dogs who have died.

If you want your dog to live, STAY AWAY!

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

This is our pathetic Rover.com experience.

For months we had planned to take a 5-day trip to Mexico.

My husband and I haven't been a vacation in years. We have a small dog rescue and work full time at it. We hired a Rover.com sitter a full month before the trip and paid in her full.

She told us she was available for the job, after some back and forth about rearranging her schedule. We were VERY CLEAR, it was a house and pet sit for 24/7. A couple of days before the trip, we had the sitter come and paid her $20 for an orientation...feeding, sleeping arrangements, etc.

As she was leaving, she said, oh, by the way, I have a dog walking job that I need to do every day, so I won't be here when you leave for the airport because I have to be there at 11 AM. And added something like...that's a long time to have a dog sitter stay at your house? I was floored. We have 2 cats, and we had 7 small dogs at that time. It was scheduled for February 12-16, 2019.

She waited until a day or two before our trip at the orientation to let us know she was going to be working for someone else, while we paying her to stay and sit with our dogs. I contacted Rover to see if we could help me find someone to fill in when she was gone, trying to salvage the sit and our vacation. They were not helpful at all. They basically told me to look on the website and if I wanted a refund to let me know.

Given how difficult it was to find and interview someone in the first place...it was not going to be easy to find a replacement with no notice. In the end, my husband ended up staying home, and we lost his ticket price, $200, and I went alone.

Rover refunded the money for the sit. But the thing that really upset me was that I wasn't able to leave a review for that sitter. She is walking around with glowing reviews and she ruined our trip by being so irresponsible and dishonest with no notice. We lost $200. We weren't able to review her because she didn't actually sit for us. It was a pretty horrible and upsetting experience.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

My 5-star 55 reviews, first aid/CPR certified rover sitter killed our 8-year-old healthy Pomeranian. The sitter then took her to a crematorium and didn't call us until after the place was closed. She tampered with the body so the next day when we were able to retrieve the body and get a necroscopy it was inconclusive since she was frozen without our permission. Rover.com "rover protection package" only covers injuries, if they kill your dog they cover nothing besides refund and crematory fees. So the way they wrote their terms of service it is cheaper for them to have their sitters kill your dog instead of getting it medical attention if needed. Also, according to their own terms of service, the reviews on their platform are not accurate or legitimate. Beware using the rover.com service it is NOT a trusted platform. Read their terms of service and know your dog is not safe when you use them.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

I hired a pet sitter and house sitter through Rover that turned out be a disaster. The sitter ended up poisoning our dogs. One of the dogs died and the sitter didn't even take the dog to the vet as asked. The sitter then posted pictures of the dying pet on Rover's website which we asked Rover to remove. Rover has a bunch people and they just pass you down the line.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

I communicated with two pet sitters to care for my dog and finally chose one. Rover sent repeated threats to my email giving me 24 hours to book with the second sitter that I did not choose. They refused to receive my email communication asking them to stop. I find this very concerning as a first time user and would recommend against this service. I will never use them again. Craigslist is better than Rover.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend