pawshake.comReviews of pawshake.com

Response from pawshake.comAug 12, 2026

Hi Hannah, Thank you for your update. We appreciate that you have now provided further context about how you say the alleged surveillance affected you. However, this is the first time Pawshake is hearing of that connection. This is the first time you have told us that you considered the cameras to be the root of your mental health crisis. That matters because we investigated the circumstances using the information available to us at the time. In your message at the time to Pawshake, you explained: “My friends came to support me… Karen organised for her friends to collect Kiki. Karen was asked if she would like us to stay until the friends arrived and she said it was best if we didn’t.” You then said: “my ultimate goal was to make sure Kiki had the correct care and that I could deal with my own crisis.” You subsequently mentioned that the house had security cameras throughout the property, that you were unaware of them, and that this was “very distressing and uncomfortable”. But at no point did you tell us that discovering the cameras had caused or triggered the mental health crisis that resulted in the booking ending. Nor did you provide the details you are now presenting publicly: that a camera was allegedly in the bathroom, that it recorded audio and video, or that the alleged surveillance caused a trauma response. Those are significant details, and they are being presented as central to the circumstances for the first time now. Had you reported undisclosed surveillance equipment to us at the time, particularly in an area where there is a reasonable expectation of privacy, we would have treated it as a serious safety concern and investigated it. Pawshake does not permit surveillance in areas where users have a reasonable expectation of privacy. We did follow up with the owner regarding what happened. Our decision considered information from both parties, including your own explanation given at the time, and the fact that the booked service ended only a few hours after it began, requiring the owner to make urgent alternative arrangements for their puppy. You may have subsequently been asked to leave, or told it was best not to remain until the owner's friends arrived. That does not change the circumstances that preceded that request or the fact that the agreed service had already broken down. Describing this simply as “doing exactly what the owners asked” therefore omits important context. We also reject the suggestion that Pawshake simply “sided entirely with the host”. We considered the information provided by both parties and followed up on the circumstances. You were given an opportunity to explain what happened, and you did so. Your contemporaneous account necessarily formed part of our assessment. We understand that you now believe the cameras were the underlying cause of your crisis. However, you did not tell us Pawshake at the time. Pawshake cannot reasonably be expected to make a decision based on a causal connection that was never communicated to us and is only being made explicit after the fact. If undisclosed surveillance was the fundamental safety issue, the appropriate course would have been to report that concern to Pawshake immediately and provide the relevant details so it could be investigated. Instead, the booking ended, the surveillance concern was only raised afterwards, and the significant additional context now being presented publicly was not provided to us when we made our decision. We appreciate that you found the experience distressing. Nevertheless, we stand by our original response and the action taken based on the information available to us at the time. You are entitled to describe your experience publicly; equally, readers should have the benefit of the contemporaneous information Pawshake actually received when the decision was made. Kind regards, Pawshake Support

Response from pawshake.comAug 12, 2026

Hi Richard, Thank you for taking the time to share your experience. We're sorry to hear that you've been disappointed by the outcome of several Meet & Greets. We appreciate how frustrating it can be when you're trying to organise care for your pets and a booking does not proceed as expected. It may help to clarify that a Meet & Greet is intended to be a no-obligation meeting for both owners and sitters. We strongly encourage these meetings because they allow both parties to assess whether the arrangement is the right fit before committing to a booking. If either party has concerns about any aspect of the proposed service, they are free to decide not to proceed. Pawshake sitters are independent pet care providers who use our platform to manage and promote their own services. They are not Pawshake employees, and the decision whether to accept or decline a booking ultimately rests with the sitter. While we understand that it can be disappointing when a sitter initially appears positive about a booking and later decides not to proceed, we would encourage you to ask prospective sitters for honest feedback when this occurs. As you mention that this has happened more than once, their feedback may help identify any factors influencing their decision, whether that relates to the pets' care requirements, behavioural considerations, the location, travel time, scheduling commitments, or other aspects of the booking. Understanding those reasons may help you address any concerns early and improve your chances of finding a sitter whose experience, availability and preferences are better aligned with your needs. We wish you all the best in finding the right sitter for your pets and appreciate your feedback regarding the process. Kind regards, Pawshake Support Updated response: We do understand the distinction you are making in your update. Your concern is not that sitters are permitted to decline after a Meet & Greet; it is that, having indicated during the meeting that they were happy to proceed, they subsequently changed their mind. However, there is an important point here. You say that this has happened with several sitters and that, in at least one case, you specifically asked the sitter more than once to tell you during the Meet & Greet if they had any reservations, and they nevertheless chose to decline later. A Meet & Greet is intended to give both parties an opportunity to make an assessment in person. While you may invite a sitter to be completely candid about any concerns, you cannot require them to reach a decision immediately or to feel comfortable expressing every reservation face-to-face. A sitter may only reflect on the arrangement afterwards and decide that it is not right for them. Where this has happened repeatedly, it may therefore be worth considering not only whether sitters are being sufficiently upfront, but also whether the Meet & Greet is creating an environment in which prospective sitters feel comfortable expressing reservations honestly at the time. We cannot know why an individual sitter chose not to proceed unless they tell you, and it would be inappropriate for us to speculate or attribute their decision to the condition of your home. What we can say is that Pawshake provides the platform and process for owners and independent sitters to find a suitable match; we cannot guarantee that a sitter will ultimately decide to accept a booking, even after a seemingly positive Meet & Greet. We appreciate that losing time when arranging pet care is frustrating, but the alternative would be to have a sitter proceed with a booking despite having reservations and potentially cancelling mid-way through, due to issues they did not feel comfortable raising with you in person. We believe it is ultimately better for a sitter to decline before the booking begins than to accept and subsequently discover that the arrangement is not suitable.