Rover.com – Dog Boarding & Sitting

You will not believe this devastating story but it is painfully and unfortunately true. My wife and I have two young girls, a 5 year old and 3 year old. We live in Corona and had a black lab mix (her name is Missy) that my wife saved from the pound when she was a puppy. We typically take vacation in December but my wife is expecting in November, our third girl :) Because we will have a newborn around the holidays this year we decided to take our family vacation early. We typically put our lab in a local boarding house for dogs but my wife heard about Rover Stay Over and she was excited about the prospect of someone caring for Missy, perhaps playing with her, walking her, and generally giving her more attention than she would receive at a boarding house. She made the decision and the day before our trip my wife and my girls bathed and groomed Missy and put a bow on her. They took her to the designated dog sitters house and my 5 year old daughter bawled her eyes out when they left her because she was going to miss her. My wife kept assuring her that she was in good hands and that she would see her after the trip. That night we got into bed early because our flight was departing LAX at 7am. We received a call from the dog sitter stating that our Missy got out of their yard, ran from the dog sitter and her son and was struck and killed by a train!!! My wife crumpled in crippled sorrow and I was stunned. Our lives were turned upside down. What can you say or do? First you are hurt and then angry. Then you feel guilty for allowing that to happen. The worst part of this tragedy was explaining it to my 5 year old. She asked questions about her death, what happens after death, if she will ever see our Missy again. She colors and paints pictures for Missy and hangs them on her dog house. In the end we accept the situation but we want others to know that there is no guarantee that professional care will be offered or provided by this organization. This organization facilitates people who have no certification or even common sense in some cases when it comes to dog care. It is unclear exactly how Missy got out of their back yard but the dog sitter claims that our 9 year old lab mix jumped their 5 foot fence. We know our dog intimately and we know with certainty that this is not the case and furthermore that Missy is not a «runner». She probably meandered out of an open gate and was not monitored properly. Worse is if they called us when she got out we would have avoided her untimely death. We would have come and picked her up and removed her from an unfit location. Rover Stay Over refunded our money and said they would investigate the dog sitters eligibility as a provider but that was the extent of their communication with us. It is with our deepest sympathy and regret that we would warn against leaving your pet with someone without verifying they have proper experience in pet care.

I’m sooooooooooo happy with
. I love the fact you can get pretty detailed information on your dog sitter, and choose what you pay and get updated pictures! I recommend it to everyone for dog boarding!