Why I Turn to Rover When I Need a Pet Sitter

The Cutline Crew loves pets! In this post, Esther shares why she loves the app Rover for taking care of her dogs, Max and Oatie, when she and her family are away.

I love my two dogs and my cat. I also love to travel. But lining up care for them when we travel can be a stressful and costly endeavor. Back when I only had my dog Max, generous friends were willing to watch him at their house. When my husband and I adopted our second dog Oatie, we started boarding the dogs while we were out of town. We were lucky to find cage-free boarding facilities that we trusted—one even had a webcam set up so we could see them anytime we wanted! But when we adopted our cat, suddenly boarding plus finding a cat sitter became a financial nightmare.

That’s why I started using the app Rover to line up pet sitters; and since using it, I’ve had nothing short of positive experiences. Rover offers services including dog walking, house visits, and overnight sitting at the sitters’ house or yours. It’s easy to find people within your budget or a certain distance away, as well as sort by reviews. I’ve hired three different sitters who we have entrusted to stay with our pets in our home. When you really think about it, that’s a pretty big leap of faith. Here are a few of the things to know about booking through Rover.

1. Sitters pass a basic background check, which is a good start. But I look for people with a solid amount of recent reviews, as well as people who have repeat bookings. I always set up a meet-and-greet well in advance to interview the sitter and make sure they aren’t giving off weird vibes. 

2. Reservations are protected through Rover. Thankfully, we’ve never had an issue with a sitter canceling; but if they did, Rover would issue a refund and help find a new sitter.

3. Sitters are encouraged to share photos. When our dogs see suitcases packed and taken out of the house, they start to get anxious. And nothing makes me more anxious when we’re on vacation than worrying about our animals feeling abandoned. When the sitter arrives and sends me a photo, my fears immediately subside.

Curious about booking pet services on Rover? You can visit Rover.com or download the app.