Rover.com | Pet SittingReviews of rover.com

I am writing this review after losing my Rover account despite years of flawless 5-star reviews and being a Star Sitter. During a boarding stay, a high-anxiety dog—whose prescribed medication was not provided for the visit—briefly exited through my back door while I was carrying items outside. The dog immediately ran to my front door to get back inside. He was never lost, which is why no lost-dog report was ever filed. More than a week after the stay ended, the pet parent contacted Rover requesting a full refund and later messaged me expressing dissatisfaction with the stay. I waived all cancellation and modification fees (including multiple last-minute reservation changes) and refunded half of the visit, even though the concern was raised well after the booking had ended and the dogs were well cared for and loved throughout their stay. Following that contact, Rover permanently closed my account. There was no appeal process, no meaningful review of my years on the platform, and no consideration of my spotless history. What makes this especially troubling is that I was told that sitters can remain on the platform even after lost-dog incidents, as long as Rover is notified. Yet in my case—where the dog was never lost, and never left my property—my account was terminated with no opportunity to dispute or explain. This speaks volumes about Rover’s inconsistency and lack of support for long-standing, trusted sitters. Rover appears willing to retain sitters after actual lost-dog incidents, while permanently removing a proven, attentive sitter over a single incident where no harm occurred. Pet parents looking for a sitter who will love their dog like their own should carefully consider whether Rover is the right platform. I would encourage them to explore other options. Sitters should also understand how little protection they have—one complaint can end your account, regardless of your history or the actual facts.

My sitter was terrible. Took 0 time to allow my dog to adjust to her home. Took a video of my dog when she was scared and upset. Then demanded we collect her with no grace, although we were on the motorway. Rover did not do a thorough follow-up with me, and after a month, sent an email closing my account. My dog had only one previous sitter and had a great experience after they gave her space to adjust to her setting.

Les clients mentent systématiquement sur leur chien, chiens ultra peureux, malpropreté plusieurs fois par jour surtout chez les mâles même castrés, tendance à se salir et impossible de les essuyer car traumatisés, chien hyperactif qu'il ne faut sortir pas 4 fois mais 6 fois par jour. Et le site veut me mettre une sanction parce que j'ai osé dire aux clients que la garde avait été ultra compliqué pour moi surtout au tarif de 14e la nuit. Donc ils ont été raconter que je m'étais mal occupée de leur chien alors que ça m'a pris un temps fou et que j'ai été conseillée par ma responsable qui est éducatrice canine. Ils ont été mettre leur chien en garde chez moi dans un appartement en plein centre ville alors que ce chien habite en pleine campagne dans un tout petit village évidement qu'il n'allait pas le supporter mais ils ont préféré mentir pour partir en vacances. Leur chien vient d'un refuge il est déjà traumatisé, il a les dents du bas limées, des stéréotypies, de nombreuses peurs, la peur de certains hommes... Mais ils ne veulent pas écouter que leur chien est compliqué, qu'il n'aurait pas dû me choisir, ils préfèrent accuser la personne qui à été payé 2,3e la balade et rien pour la garde à la maison et surtout tout le nettoyage. Non ce n'est pas parce que vous êtes des clients que vous êtes des rois. Moi j'arrête je ne peux même pas promener ma chienne avec eux car soit ils tirent, soit ils courent pour fuire l'extérieur qu'ils ne connaissent pas et veulent rentrer chez moi... Bref assumez que vos chiens sont difficiles qu'on puisse vous dire NON plutôt que d'essayer de les caser à tout prix, ce ne sont pas des objets.

In the beginning, using Rover was a great option. My sitters were awesome and took great care of my pups. However, Rover has gotten extremely greedy. Not only do they take 20% commission from the sitters, they are now adding a $50 service fee on top of that. I'm finished with them!

I'd been searching for somewhere to board my puppy for 2 weeks and have found that 2 of the people that I have approached don't have the legal requirement of having an animal activity licence. Rover do not check that this is jn place so please check before boarding your pet.

Experiencia nefasta y peligrosa para los cuidadores. El sistema de la aplicación cometió un fallo grave de seguridad: me desbloqueó la dirección exacta y privada del cliente, lo que en esta plataforma indica que la reserva está confirmada y pagada. Basándome en esa información que la propia App me facilitó, realicé un viaje de 1.5 horas con condiciones climáticas adversas para cumplir con el servicio. Al llegar, el cliente no apareció. Al contactar con soporte, su respuesta fue vergonzosa: Admitieron que si vi la dirección "fue un error del sistema", pero se niegan a asumir la responsabilidad. Se niegan a pagarme el desplazamiento o una compensación por el tiempo perdido y la semana bloqueada en mi calendario. Ante mi reclamo legítimo por su fallo técnico, procedieron a desactivar mi cuenta inmediatamente en lugar de ofrecer una solución. He perdido dinero en transporte y tiempo de trabajo por un "glitch" de su plataforma. Si eres cuidador, ten cuidado: la App puede mostrarte datos falsos de confirmación y luego dejarte tirado sin pagarte.

Svært dårlig opplevelse. Hundepasser ba oss komme hjem på julaften og vi var 7 timer unna. Hunden vår reagerte på besøket og at de ikke klarte å skille han fra andre hunder i en sånn situasjon. Vi var heldig med at en kennel tok imot ham, og da fortalte personen som drev kennelen at han fikk ett veldig dårlig inntrykk av hundepasser. På kennel var hunden vår glad, enkle og rolig, og viste ingen tegn på dårlig adferd. I ettertid har vi ikke sett noe på hunden som viser det hundepasser beskrev, så vi stiller spørsmålet hva skjedde egentlig? Burde ikke de som er på Rover har såpass kompetanse at de kan håndtere enn sånn situasjon? Og ta hensyn til at de har fremmed hund i huset? Særlig når det står i profilen at de er svært vant med alle type hunder og har eget rom for dem som trenger det. Men svaret vi fikk da var at de ikke ville at egne hunder ikke kunne gå i hele huset og derfor måtte vi komme. En svært hjelpeløs situasjon og helt ubrukelig for oss. Kommer aldri til å bruke Rover igjen noen gang.

Dogs Abandoned Over 17 Hours We traveled internationally from December 19 through December 28 and entrusted our three dogs to a Rover sitter booked well in advance. The expectations were explicit and documented. Overnight care in our home. Continuous presence. No gaps. No abandonment. These were not casual preferences. They were the basis of the booking. On December 27, the second to last day of our trip, the sitter sent a message around 5:00 PM stating she was leaving for another job and would return in the morning. This was not discussed beforehand. This was not approved. This directly violated the care agreement we paid for. After that message, she stopped responding entirely. For over seventeen hours, she was unreachable. We were thousands of miles away on another continent. We had no ability to drive home. No ability to intervene. No ability to access our dogs beyond whatever systems we could check remotely. Using our ADT security system and access logs, we confirmed she had left our home that evening and did not return until well into the following day. Our dogs were alone. No confirmation of their welfare. No care. No supervision. No contingency plan. When we contacted Rover in a panic, we expected urgency. We expected escalation. We expected someone trained to handle emergencies involving live animals. Instead, we were routed to call center representatives reading scripts. We were repeatedly told that sitters are independent contractors and that Rover does not assume responsibility for their actions. We were advised to call friends or family to intervene, despite clearly explaining that we were out of the country and had no one who could access our home on short notice. At one point, in absolute disbelief, I asked a Rover representative a question that still makes my stomach turn. I asked whether my dogs could be left alone for up to thirty six hours before I could get back from another continent. The answer was yes! That answer was recorded. It was not a misunderstanding. It was not sarcasm. It was a calm agreement from someone who had no training, no authority, and no plan. There was no emergency protocol. No backup sitter deployed. No welfare check. No escalation to a supervisor with decision making power. No assurance that someone would physically go to the house. No acknowledgment that this situation was unacceptable. What made this worse was not just the abandonment itself. It was the realization, in real time, that Rover had no safety net whatsoever once a sitter stopped responding. We were left staring at security logs, time stamps, and unanswered messages while being told, politely, that Rover could not really help. Our Christmas vacation ended that day. The emotional toll of sitting helplessly in another country, knowing your animals may be distressed or in danger, while the company you paid explicitly for protection shrugs and deflects responsibility, is hard to describe. It was panic layered with disbelief and then anger. When we returned home, we expected follow up. We expected a formal incident review. We expected to be told how this would be prevented from happening again. Sixteen days passed. No call. No email. No explanation. No policy outline. No assurance. Nothing. Eventually, the only response offered was a proposed $200 refund. That offer was not just inadequate. It was offensive. We paid nearly $1,000 for a service that failed at the exact moment it was needed. We received no support during the incident and no accountability afterward. A partial refund does nothing to address the systemic failure that put our pets at risk. This was not a rogue sitter problem. This was a platform problem. Rover presents itself as a trusted intermediary. It profits from the promise of safety and reliability. But when something goes wrong, the reality is that there is no trained emergency response team, no meaningful escalation path, and no obligation taken by the platform to ensure animals are protected. If a sitter disappears, owners may be told to solve it themselves. If owners are unreachable due to travel, the animals may simply be left alone. If owners complain afterward, they may be ghosted. That is not a vetted service. That is a liability marketplace. Our dogs were lucky. They were not injured. They were not lost. They survived an experience that could have gone very differently. Others may not. We are sharing this publicly because pet owners deserve to know what they are actually paying for. If you believe Rover will step in during an emergency, you should understand that there is no guarantee anyone will. We paid for peace of mind. What we received was silence. *update: the reply below is a blatant lie and I've sent ANOTHER email to "trust@rover" pasting this in with no reply.