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Rover.com pet-sitting website in-depth review.

Rating: 9.3 / 10 (Excellent)
99 Customer Reviews - see all comments
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Rover.com is a website that connects pet parents with loving, local dog sitters. It’s the country’s largest network of dog lovers for hire, with over 25,000 pet sitters nationwide who can easily be accessed online. Services offered by pet sitters include dog hosting (the sitter watches the dog in their home), dog sitting (the sitter watches the dog in the owner’s home), dog walking, and dog daycare. Rover.com also offers premium insurance, 24/7 support, and a reservation guarantee, at no extra cost.

Availability: (Nationwide)

Pet Sitter Rates
$25 per day average

Payment Options

Credit card (Visa, MasterCard)
PayPal

Pet Sitting Location

Pet Hosting (In the Owner's Home)
Pet Hosting (In the Sitter’s Home)

Pet Services

Dog boarding
Day care
Pet sitting
Dog walking
Transportation

Setting an Appointment

Self-Service: Online

Search sitters, send messages, book and pay, all through Rover.

Full-service: Telephone

Call Rover Premier, and a consultant will handle the details, matching pet parents with the best sitter to meet their needs.

Pet Insurance – Included with all services

Universal insurance coverage for stays and services booked on Rover

Medical coverage

$25,000
$250 deductible per claim

General liability (Bodily injury and property damage)

$2,000,000 per occurrence
$3,000,000 general aggregate
No deductible

Professional liability

$1,000,000 per occurrence
$1,000,000 general aggregate
No deductible

Fine Print

Limited one-time refund

Requests for refunds should be sent within 48 hours of the end of your pet’s stay. This excludes any fees payable to Pet Care Service Providers. In cases where Rover.com determines that a Pet Care Service Provider violated policies in connection with a service, Rover.com may provide pet owners a refund of all fees charged by Rover.com.

Identity and Background Verification

Rover.com does not attempt to confirm any user’s purported identity or background. Users are responsible for providing true, accurate, current and complete information about themselves. Users are advised to maintain and update any information so it remains true, accurate and complete at all times. Rover.com offers optional background checks through a partnership with First Advantage that verifies that a sitter has not committed a felony or violent crime, such that there would be reason to believe that animals would be in danger while in their care. Rover.com does not investigate any user’s reputation, conduct, morality, criminal background or verify information submitted though the services.

Cancellations

If you book a reservation with a sitter, then you have to cancel your reservation, which does happen, Rover.com will return the funds to the pet owner in accordance with the sitter's cancellation policy. Policies may vary from sitter-to-sitter. Rover.com, however, isn't obligated to intervene in any dispute between users regarding any cancellations and/or refunds outside of Rover.com cancellation policy (if any), regardless of whether Rover.com collected any money on behalf of a pet care service provider or third party service provider. It's really about you knowing how the sitter you choose operates, then being respectful with your sitter in the event that an unforeseen emergency comes up or your travel plans change last minute.   

Rover.com Summary

Rover.com is an excellent gateway for pet parents searching for pet-sitting services. Its nationwide network of over 25,000 loving pet sitters makes it the most extensive online database of its kind. It’s easy-to-use messaging system and secure payment portal allows pet parents to find, book, and pay for a sitter—and remain in touch throughout the stay. Rover.com offers premium pet insurance which includes medical coverage, general, and professional liability, giving pet parents an extra layer of protection. With Rover.com, loving neighborhood sitters are backed by the support and security of a nationwide company. Overall, Rover.com is a robust yet simple tool for helping pet parents connect seamlessly with pet-sitting services.

Top Rated
VISIT SITE

  • Over 25,000 pet sitters nationwide
  • Complimentary premium pet insurance
  • 24/7 support and Rover reservation guarantee
  • Sitter background checks
  • On-call veterinary assistance
  • Daily photo updates of your pet via free mobile app (IOS & Android)
READ FULL REVIEW >

Latest Rover.com Reviews

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Jayson

8/14/2018
My sitter did not walk my pets for 26 hours, went missing for 16 hours and left my pets alone without water. Rover still lists her as a trusted sitter.

Elaine C

9/15/2018
Rover pays for their negative reviews to be removed. First of all, they don't disclose how many dogs die every month in their care. If they did, no one would use their service. You can easily google how many horror stories are out there about Rover sitters. I wish they would have told the truth so that I never would have used them. One of my dogs was brutally killed in the care of a Rover sitter who had had a past history of dogs being injured in her care. Due to Rover's greed and negligence, they continued letting her watch people's dogs -- WHAT IS WRONG WITH THESE PEOPLE? Thanks to them my dog had to be killed in a terribly violent way by a terribly negligent sitter. The people who... Read More

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Rachael

9/8/2018
We booked a dogsitter through Rover because they tout their thorough background check. We had a meet and greet with a local Rover dogsitter and hired her to care for our 15 year old golden retriever. Unfortunately, a week into our vacation, the dogsitter was taken away by ambulance for a psych evaluation after having an alcoholic relapse. The officer on the scene informed me that the name on her Rover profile was actually an alias and different from the name on her license. While we were away, she had consumed every bottle of liquor in our house as well as bringing in several of her own mason jars filled with pot. There was significant damage to my furniture and table from her drug... Read More

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Arthur

7/20/2018
Our dog is dead! After carefully searching, checking reviews and references and interviewing candidates, we hired someone ​we thought was an​ experienced dog and house sitter to live in our home​ for our week vacation out of the country. We found Nella Maranon on Nextdoor and she had all the qualifications. When we interviewed her she proudly stated that she gets most of her business dog sitting and her doggy day-care from rover.com where they emphasize safety. On our first day away she locked out one of our three precious little dogs, our beloved, defenseless ​senior 5lb.​pom rescue in the dog run at bedtime. Evidence shows Foxy was mauled and killed by a coyote. We... Read More

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Dog l

2/9/2019
I was extremely disappointed in a. 5 Star-rated -dog sitter. Every single review said SHE IS AMAZING!!! I was looking for a dog sitter who could watch my dogs in my place while I was gone for a day. Researched a lot and I thought I found a best match by reading all of her clients reviews. She sends texts many times a day to let owners know how their dogs were doing and sounded like very caring loving person. So I met her briefly w my dogs and she gave me good impression too. Booked her for a half day first for the test. She was amazing . Absolutely Booked her my one day trip. She started texting me immediately after starting her job in the morning. I was very pleased and... Read More

Cynthia P

8/5/2018
We had a great sitter from Rover last year, but this year we got one who could not have been worse. Rover apparently takes anyone and keeps them regardless of how bad they are. I gave this sitter instructions on taking care of our dog, two cats, and two parakeets months before we left and left a copy in the kitchen with all the supplies needed. She came on a meet and greet and we talked about everything. She agreed and also agreed to water a holly bush while we were gone. I emailed her to remind her we were leaving a couple of days ahead of time and the day before, telling her I had just bought fresh veggies for the birds, which were in the refrigerator. I paid her $450 to come three times... Read More

F
FoolMeOnce

9/5/2018
No way this is a 5 star service. Something fishy about this. Get a homeless person off the street before getting a sitter through Rover

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Lola

5/1/2018
The whole reason to go through a website like Rover is so there is a layer of protection between you and the sitter. You think that in the event of a problem, Rover will step in and rectify the situation. I'm here to let you know, they will not. They could care less who is listed as a sitter on their site. We booked a sitter through rover.com to do once a day 30 min to change food and litter. We came home one night at 1:30 in the morning to find her past out in our bed and empty alcohol bottles of ours littered throughout the apartment. According to Rover they can only offer a third party mediator in case of a sitter issue. They don't care what happened and said they think they can... Read More

C
Catherine

10/4/2018
Rover yes will cover your pet if anything happens to them during a sitters care, but they provide NO support to the sitters. Parents lie and their dog brings fleas into your house? your problem. Parents dont provide food? thats your problem. For taking 20% of the sitters fee and charging the pet parents a booking fee, its a rip off. I was recently attacked by a dog and they do not cover ANY damages to the sitter. They bared cared how I was doing they would not even follow up with me that the dog was removed from the profile. I had to investigate myself. Even being attacked by a dog that I had mentioned to them before had aggressive tendencies they would not even remove from my house, I... Read More

N
Never a

8/21/2018
No accountability if something goes wrong with a sitter. They tout that they screen, do background checks and have guarantees to lull the potential customer into a false sense of security. Do yourself a favor and thoroughly read their so called guarantee. SO much wiggle room and outs that it is worthless. I had almost $3000 worth of damage to hardwood floors due to house/pet sitter negligence. Rover's response...so sorry your home was damaged, but it is not covered. The sitter deliberately did not do a task she agreed to and I had a number of plants almost die on me. Some it will take at least a year to fully recover. All due to laziness. Rover's response. So sorry that happened. It is... Read More

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Diane W

3/22/2019
We employed Rover to walk our dog at the Grand Canyon while we went hiking for two days. On only the second walk, the walker dropped our dog's leash (a 9 pound chihuahua), he ran, and he was eaten by animals in the woods. When we heard he had gotten away, we rushed back (ruined our vacation reserved for 13 months, which is the least of it), and searched for two days before we found his bloody harness and leash not far away from where she lost him. Rover obviously does not train their people on the simplest of safety precautions. I would never hire them to walk a dog. We are heartbroken and don't want anyone else to go through this.

Donna B

12/5/2017
Donna Benard 13 hrs · Biloxi · So very random but BEWARE because I just used Rover.com to get a sitter and here's my experience. Just say no. I know this is long but y'all should be aware. Rover is ignorant once they are paid. They tried telling me their sitters are independent contractors but reality is I paid Rover and they took 20% of this job so my contract is with them not the contractor. I warned them this would be posted. https://www.rover.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Donna Benard Dec 1, 1:40 AM PST I already called you when I was away based on what I was seeing through my home cameras. This first question to all sitters I did meet and greets with (8-10) was I needed... Read More

J
J.W.

1/16/2019
I was a sitter for Rover and had 5 star reviews, always happy customers but they dumped me because I wouldn't take every dog into my care when the clients refused a meet and greet first, which is ESSENTIAL to make sure the dog is somewhat mannered and if he might get along well with other dogs or wasn't going to pee on the floor (there is NO excuse when it is not a puppy) or destroys property. They expected me to take every client regardless and didn't like that I rejected dogs with major violence/behavior issues and blamed me when clients didn't return emails. They are also lying when they say they do a background check.

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Rebecca D

12/30/2018
ROVER customer service is terrible. The walkers are great and setting up the customers are great but the customer service team don't care about your dog at all. If something happens to your dog rover can care less! I had to drop in on a dog twice a day, who was kept in a tiny room by her self 23 hours a day. She was eating paint, legos and other stuff. She would pee herself and freak out during the walks. I had to bring my wife to help me because one person could not handle it. When the owners asked us to cage her for 23 hours a day we called rover because we felt as if the situation was not good for the dog. We were afraid she would hurt herself or get sick from the stuff she ate. When I... Read More

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Geralyn C

9/6/2018
If I could leave zero stars I would. My dog died in the care of a Rover pet sitter. The sitter was allowed to mis-represent their address for weeks after receiving several complaints. They also repeatedly denied my request for reimbursement of my veterinarian bills, even after I provided the documentation they requested. This company is all about money and does not care whatsoever about the services provided to their clients.

Kate D

3/27/2019
I have had positive and negative interactions with Rover. I am scoring them as a 1 star due to the most recent interaction where my at home pet sitter damaged items in my apartment, and my claim was denied stating it was normal wear and tear. A large chip out of the porcelain stove top is not normal wear and tear. I asked to pursue this further and was denied by the customer service rep, Ernest S.

J
jason

3/13/2019
A rover sitter killed our dog and tried to cremate her before anyone even contacted us! The worst company I can't believe consumersadvocate back these greedy dog killing evil people.

jnahrzog

9/8/2019
Rover is a terrible service. Their platform is so confusing - you can hardly see if the services have been booked. Cancelling a service is even harder. You have to confirm through a representative via email and they act like they don't understand, making you repeat yourself over and over again that you don't need the service. I also know that they take a large percentage away from the pet sitter/walker, so they end up getting very little pay and pet owners end up paying inflated prices. Horrible idea with an even worse platform/customer service.

lwark

8/14/2019
I hired a sitter via Rover in May. The sitter, Kirra, came to my home on 5/29 to meet my dogs. We did a walk-through of my home. During the walk-through, I showed her where the washer and dryer were located, opening (sliding) the doors of the laundry area, clearly not pulling them out. Kirra agreed to watch my dogs from July 3 to July 8. I asked Kirra to take care of my girls, most importantly that they not be left alone at night. I didn't mind if she stayed at my home or her home, as long as they weren't alone in the evening. I left instructions on the fridge as well, giving her info on their care and feeding. Kirra was thoughtful and washed the sheets and bedding she used, but I didn't... Read More

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joe

8/2/2019
Sitter lied about being a nonsmoker and when I showed up to drop the dogs off there was obvious evidence of smoking (despite me having done a meet a greet a week earlier so they intentionally deceived me). Rover refused to refund the full amount and only said they would refund according to the sitter's policy. They also said they have no control over it.

Elspeth S

7/11/2019
I had a horrible experience with Rover. A sitter in Napa, CA who I will call A. responded to my request and we negotiated a price, a visit schedule and a set of tasks. When I returned home after two and a half weeks I found that my dogs had NEVER been walked in 18 days, there were dog feces carpeting the side yard, the sitter was there for as short as 5 minutes at a time, with an average of 10 minutes, items broken, my house reeking of cat urine. I asked A. what happened and received a bizarre rant back, telling me that my pets were still alive so I should be thanking her. I asked Rover to help but since A. asked me to pay her directly and not on Rover, Rover said they couldn’t do... Read More

fiorev3

7/5/2019
Now I get why so many pets have been harmed under the care of this service, as no reputable sitter would ever work here after having the experience I did. I have many repeat clients and 5 star reviews (all stays Rover received their 20% commission) I but will never again affiliate myself with this company. Rover does not care about pets. I had to leave town for a family emergency, and the rover hotline refused to even look for another sitter for a cat that needs daily meds while the owners are in another country with limited cell service. The woman on the emergency line screamed at me repeatedly and finally said I needed to either skip a family member's funeral or neglect the cat and... Read More

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Scott

1/19/2018
"A Place for Rover, Inc." (a.k.a. Rover.com) makes it appear to consumers looking for pet-sitters that all of their "5-star pet sitters" are carefully chosen with "pet safety their number one concern." That is simply false (curiously, not one of their sitters appears to have below 5 stars, including the sitter I recently gave 1 star). If one digs deeply enough one finds that the company does not seem to check anything their sitters post on the Rover.com website nor carefully check a sitter's background to see whether the sitter can provide reasonable or safe services, and the company disclaims all liability for any fraud perpetrated via their website. Analysis of the company website, its... Read More

C
catherina

9/9/2019
ROVER IS THE WORST SERVICE I EVER HAD. The worst service I ever got. I have 2 dogs and when contracting 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 ask 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 flight last minute because my grandmother had passed away only reason why I would leave my dogs with someone I didn’t knew, 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 proper fence, there was no gate , the only gate was a table and some chair... Read More

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Lisa B

7/30/2019
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. 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... Read More

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