CNN Business reports on the growing number of dogs that have gone missing or died while in the care of sitters provided by Rover, an Uber-like pet-sitting service. They report on six, but suspects there are many more because, it reports, the company uses arbitration and NDAs to muzzle customers.
All of them said they turned to the platform because it was a recognizable name in the industry and they felt more comfortable after reading positive reviews of their respective sitters on the site. One pet owner said her sitter remained on the platform for months after her dogs were lost while in the sitter's care. (Rover declined to comment on this claim.) Another owner, whose dog was found dead with no explanation, said the sitter whose care he was in remains live on the platform. (Rover said it is reviewing this matter.)It's unclear how many owners have experienced such incidents. [Rover spokesperson Dave] Rosenbaum told CNN Business the company tracks these incidents but does not "currently disclose" numbers. However, there have been stories over the years of dogs who were lost,abused, or found dead while in the care of Rover sitters, often reported on by local news outlets.
CNN found sitters still on the platform even after animals died in their care under inexplicable circumstances.
Annette Leturia dropped off her two dogs — two-year-old Togo and nearly four-year-old Liam — with a Rover sitter in Houston, Texas, in late June for what was supposed to be a week-long vacation, only to return early after the sitter told her Togo was found dead on the bathroom floor. Afterward, Leturia said she had an independent background check done on the sitter, which turned up troubling charges for grand theft and fraud. She said she still has no closure on what happened to Togo.In the meantime, based on screenshots viewed by CNN Business, the sitter appears to be pet sitting on the platform. When asked about this, [Rover spokesperson Dave] Rosenbaum said: "We have asked our team to review the specifics of this incident and take further action if appropriate."
And cash for silence:
Joy Collier, whose Blue Weimaraner and Aussie Shepard doodle went missing in late May 2020 while in the care of a sitter she booked through Rover, allegedly had a similar experience. She said Rover offered her roughly $4,300 on the condition of signing an NDA after she started to get some local press attention about her lost dogs.
I wouldn't trust so much as a houseplant to the care of this company.
