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10 Best
Pet Sitting
of 2024
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Pet Sitting 

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


ConsumersAdvocate.org Rating: 4.6 / 5 (Excellent)
99 Customer Comments & 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.


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Customer Comments

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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
4 People found this helpful.


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
4 People found this helpful.


S
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
4 People found this helpful.


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
3 People found this helpful.


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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
3 People found this helpful.


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Leah
7/30/2019
HORRIBLE experience! Do not use Rover.com or KristyAnn! Our experience with KristyAnn was so bad that we actually canceled her services in the middle of the reservation!! And called Rover to complain ( not that it did any good). She kept having to reschedule coming over to meet me and my pets so I should have known then it was going to be a problem. She agreed to come to our house 3 times a day for 30 mins each but was only coming for 14-20 mins at a time and was coming at midnight and 2am. My dog is old so this was hard on her. The final straw was when she didn’t show up for the morning feeding/medicine dose until 1130 which meant my dog hadn’t been out in almost 12 hours. Her... Read More
3 People found this helpful.


M
Marie
7/13/2019
I'm so disappointed with ROVER! I understand that everyone on here are independent contractors but they are still representing the ROVER BRAND. To allow completely unprofessional and unqualified sitters to represent themselves on this site is ludicrous! Furthermore, it's RIDICULOUS that I am unable to leave a review for the pet sitter I hired A WEEK AGO that canceled on me FOURTEEN hours before I had to leave. Who knows how many times she has done this before???? There should be a way for people to see how many times she has canceled on people. Spending my time trying to find someone last minute...
3 People found this helpful.


Chris B
6/24/2019
TLDR: Rover sitter lost Dog. Rover has been disrespectful and has offered zero help. This is a fairly long story so I apologize. We were going on a vacation from the USA to the UK for about 10 days. Due to our dog being a little anxious we wanted her to be at home and not boarded for such a long time. Hired a sitter with great reviews and multiple repeat clients. She came in for the meet and greet and was great with her. Day of the trip she is suppose to be there at noon to sit more with the dog and get more use to. She doesn’t show up. I text her what is going on she said she stopped by for a bit and she was fine (which was a lie because we have a door monitor and no one... Read More
3 People found this helpful.


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Sharon R
4/26/2019
I had no problem finding a wonderful pet sitter through this service. HOWEVER, the company itself is a scam to the pet owner as well as the pet sitter. My pet Sitter did not get paid even he after he showed up for the drop in visits and Rover had already taken my money. If I could give them ZERO stars I would!!! The company didn't even have the ability to resolve the non payment issue and I had to cancel the whole thing and hopefully I will get a full refund! I now have to pay the sitter for past visits out of my own pocket. I am heartbroken to lose this sitter whom my dog loved but Rover was a complete nightmare to deal with...just terrible!!! :'(
3 People found this helpful.


Allison T
4/20/2019
We had a terrible experience recently. My boyfriend and I went on vacation for 5 days. Our sitter checked in with our cat and sent daily photos which was greatly appreciated. After that, it was a battle to get our key back. Every time the sitter was supposed to drop it off, she made an excuse. After continuous attempts to contact her with no response, I contacted Rover for help. They took down our complaint and said I would be contacted in 24 hours. I received an email recapping my complaint and asking for further detail. After that, it took 2 weeks for a supervisor to call me. I sent multiple emails asking what the status was and why I hadn't heard from anyone. The customer service... Read More
3 People found this helpful.



Top Rated
  • 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)