Is It Safe to Hire Someone From Rover to Watch Your Pet?

On January 2, 2025, Jennifer Gallegos’s puppy, Phoebe, went missing from a park in Queens, New York, while in the care of a five-star pet sitter booked through Rover. The pet sitter told Gallegos that she had Phoebe in a stroller with a zip closure and then started playing fetch with her own dog. When she turned back around 30 minutes later, the stroller was open, Phoebe was gone, and the sweater she had been wearing was lying on the ground a few feet away.

Rover told Gothamist that such incidents are extremely rare, though a quick search brings up more than one example of an incident. Also in January, a Tampa couple’s six-month-old puppy, a Bernedoodle named Blue, went missing while under the care of a Rover sitter. The couple told a local news station that this was their first time using Rover.

“I actually told the Rover [sitter] before we left that please watch after Blue. He’s our baby, he’s our everything,’” Blue’s mom, Shelby Caldwell, said. “She has a young kid, and she also has a puppy, and she said ‘trust me, I know how you feel. My dog’s my baby, too.’ So, when we got that call that night, it was honestly just the most heartbreaking thing.”

In a statement to 10 Tampa Bay, Rover said, in part: “Most Rover team members are pet parents, and our hearts go out to Blue’s family; we join them in hoping for a healthy and swift reunion. Our team has conducted a thorough review of this situation, and the pet care provider involved is no longer able to offer services through the Rover platform.”

As for Phoebe, Rover told Gothamist that they are offering a $1,000 reward for her return and providing Gallegos with flyers to post around the area. They also took down that service provider’s profile and gave Gallegos a complete refund.

Stasha Vincent, a PR manager for Rover, tells Kinship that they shared information about Phoebe with online pet-finding forums, sent alerts to local shelters and veterinarians, and reached out to Rover community members to help with the search.

As of now, there have been no reports that Phoebe or Blue have been safely returned. But there is hope (a Las Vegas dog named Gunner was reunited with his family last year, four months after a Rover sitter lost him). Stories like Phoebe’s, Blue’s, and Gunner’s beg the question: Should pet parents trust Rover with the care of their beloved animals?

Are Rover service providers trustworthy?

It’s important to understand that Rover is not a direct employer of dog walkers and pet sitters. Those service providers are independent contractors who are employed by individual pet parents via the app. Although they require each service provider to pass a safety quiz, Rover does not train the people who make an account with them, nor do they hold them to any explicit standards of conduct beyond those prescribed by law.

We spoke with a few people who have worked with the app. All of them asked to remain anonymous; we have used pseudonyms to protect their privacy.

“There is no training or standard across sitters at all,” says Lucy, a pet sitter and dog walker who started working with Rover in 2021. “We are given literally zero information. Rover does occasionally send ‘Safety Info’, but if you have any pet care experience, it’s nothing you don’t already know.”

Samantha, a cat sitter who has worked with Rover for over a year, does say they recently added a short online training, but it’s not required.

Rover does background checks on all their pet care workers, but they take no responsibility for their accuracy: “Rover does not warrant that any such screen is accurate, complete, conclusive or up to date,” their terms of service say. They also take no responsibility for the validity of any reviews posted on their platform.

This is not to say that Rover’s service providers are inexperienced, untrained, or untrustworthy, but the app’s role is as an intermediary. In other words, they leave it up to you to decide if someone is qualified to care for your pet. As their terms of service further state: “We make no representations or warranties about the quality of boarding, pet sitting, dog walking, house sitting, or other services provided by Service Providers.” In other words, if the person you hire does a bad job, you cannot blame Rover for this.

Sitters, walkers, etc. can upload testimonials from past clients that pet parents can read. However, as Rover states in their terms of service, they do “not endorse reviews of Service Providers by other Pet Owners that may be available via the Rover Service, and Rover makes no commitments that such reviews are accurate or legitimate.”

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What do you do if something happens to your pet while they’re under a Rover provider’s care?

The company takes no legal responsibility for your pet while in the care of someone you hired through them, but they do offer something called the Rover Guarantee. This provides up to $25,000 in eligible veterinary care reimbursement for injuries or damages that may occur during a booking, though there are limitations. For example, the app will not cover any vet costs that continue beyond 30 days. The app also offers 24/7 support and certain “out-of-pocket medical costs for third-party injuries.”

This doesn’t seem like a bad deal, but leaving your pet with a stranger you met online has its risks. “I generally tell people not to use [Rover or other apps like it], unless you’ve already developed a relationship with someone on there that you trust,” says Jessica Jacobson, a New York City-based dog trainer and behavior expert at Dapper Dog Training. “You just don't know who you’re going to get. As a professional in the field, I have many stories about people whose dogs were not receiving the best care — some caught on video — from walkers trying to [dump] aggressive dogs out of their crates, to sitters who were barely walking the dogs.”

Instead, Jacobson recommends working with people who have been referred by someone you know. “This works because there’s personal experience there,” she says. “It’s the reason word of mouth is one of the strongest referrals.”

Of course, not everyone knows someone who knows someone they can trust with their pet, which is why Rover and apps like it (Wag!, Pawshake, DogHero to name a few) are so useful, even if they aren’t perfect. And nothing in this world is ever 100 percent safe. We can’t fall into the trap of believing that rare scary instances mean an entire service or company is bad. That said, it is up to you to look out for your best interests.

Rover actually suggests setting up a meet-and-greet with any and all potential service providers and even offers a guide on how to do so safely. They also offer sample questions on their website to help you discuss your pet’s needs and your expectations for their care. 

Rover service providers may actually be less protected than your pet.

The potential risks are not just to you, your pets, and your stuff. Pet sitters are also at risk. “Most of Rover’s policies and its Rover Guarantee [are] built to protect owners [and] their pets, not sitters,” Samantha says. “If, for example, a pet on Rover attacked or bit a sitter, the sitter is not protected in any way. For me, a reactive dog on Rover destroyed my iPhone, and I was expected to pay for it on my own.”

This is true. The guarantee offers damage to the pet parent’s home but does not cover “property damage or injuries to service providers, owners, their roommates or families.”

Samantha goes on to say that if a pet parent were to cancel a booking with her, she would get not get paid at all. Per Rover’s cancellation policy, the client will receive a full refund if they cancel before the booking begins. If they do so after the booking has begun, they will get a 50 percent refund for the first seven days. They get 100 percent of their money back for any days booked after that seven-day period. Also per their policy, all “add-ons,” such as “extended care, sitter pickup and drop off, and bathing/grooming) are refunded 100 percent when a booking is canceled.”

Thankfully, the app allows its pet care providers to set their own rates. But for those users who joined after March 1, 2016, they take a 20 percent chunk of that final payment (and 25 percent for those providers who used their on-demand feature, RoverGO). Pet parents also get charged an 11 percent service fee when they book.

In addition, Samantha notes that pet parents don’t have to use their real names, but Rover service providers do. “[This] has definitely raised concerns for me a few times when going into a complete stranger’s home and I decline any bookings where the owners refuse to share their real names.”

Lucy says that based on her experience, it seems Rover is only looking out for their bottom line. “Rover doesn’t care about the sitters or the clients,” she says. “To be honest, all they care about is that money. They tell sitters not to book if we feel uncomfortable to cover their own ass, because ultimately, we are dinged when we decline new clients [and] it messes up our metrics. You have to learn to live with this as a sitter, or you end up taking jobs you aren’t comfortable with.” (If you’re looking for more testimonials like this, the r/RoverPetSitting subreddit is full of stories.)

Not everyone we spoke to was so critical, though. “I, personally, have never felt unsafe while dog sitting/walking on Rover,” says Naomi, a part-time sitter who has been working through Rover for a little under six months. “I have seen a lot of people complain about Rover and their interests, but I know they do their best to make sure everything is completely safe, which I can appreciate. When signing up, I was given an emergency Rover number [that I can] call at any time if I'm in an emergency situation. [Most apps don’t provide] something like [that], which makes Rover that much better!”

And it’s worth noting that even the service providers who were critical of Rover tell us they preferred working with them over their competitors. “I’ve worked with Cat in the Flat and Urbansitter,” Samantha tells us, “but the interfaces [on the website/app] were not as good as Rover.”

Lucy also rates Rover’s interfaces over other apps she’s used for gig work in general: “I used to do Instacart pre-COVID, and it was OK, but I definitely make more money and have better control of my schedule with Rover.”

What happens legally if something goes down?

If anything happens to service providers while they are on the job, Rover states that is also not their fault: “To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, in no event will Rover be liable for any damages whatsoever, whether direct, indirect, special, compensatory, and/or consequential, arising out of or related to the conduct of you or anyone else in connection with the Rover service, including without limitation, property damage, theft, bodily injury, death, emotional distress, and/or any other damages.”

Not that any of that is likely to happen if you use Rover. If horrific outcomes like those were super common, you probably would have heard by now. Or maybe not? The terms of service state: “All aspects of the arbitration proceeding, and any ruling, decision or award by the arbitrator, will be strictly confidential for the benefit of all Parties.“

This means that anyone who uses the app can’t sue Rover in open court, and the terms of any settlement reached during said arbitration are never disclosed to the public. Of course, you can opt out of the arbitration clause in the terms of service, but you must do so via “a written, opt-out notice“ within 30 days of your initial agreement.

All that being said, if you read the terms of service for any big company, you’d probably encounter a lot of similar language. Just because Rover indemnifies themselves against liability in certain extreme (and not so extreme) cases, doesn’t mean that they expect those circumstances to arise. They are covering their butts—and it is up to you to cover yours. 

A common pieces of advice you’ll find online for Rover caregivers is to get their own liability insurance. This protects them and you in the event that something terrible happens. They pay for this out of their own pockets and will often include their insurance status in their profile. If you don’t see it, though, ask.

Rover expects all their service providers to follow the law, when it comes to the business licenses, permits, etc. that might be required in your state/country to legally provide commercial pet care in the first place. But they take no responsibility if someone fails to obtain that documentation.

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Ultimately, the person who cares for your pet is your choice.

Whether you choose to work with Rover or not, make sure to meet in-person with any and all service providers before hiring them. Check that they have liability insurance and ask them whatever relevant questions you want. If the vibe feels off, find someone else. And give yourself enough time to do so. Don’t go searching for a pet sitter mere days before heading out of town, if possible. If you need someone to walk your dog while you are at work, try not to wait until you are in a busy-day bind to book someone. Schedule a meeting with them in advance so you can confidently call on them when that chaotic day comes.

And, as a sweeping rule, do not blindly trust pet sitting companies without doing your research. They may be mostly made up of caring and conscientious individuals but exist solely to make money for their investors. If a company’s promises feel too good to be true, read their terms of service to find out for yourself. In pet sitting, as in life, there are no guarantees, but for your own sake and the sake of your pet, do everything in your power to go into these situations with your eyes wide open. You’ll be glad that you did. 

If you have any information on Blue’s whereabouts, please contact 775-742-5886, per WFTS Tampa Bay. If you have helpful information about Phoebe, please reach out to 347-256-7315 or 347-502-8055, per a poster provided by her mom to Gothamist. Phoebe’s sitter says she last saw her at Kissena Corridor Park by 46-20 Colden St. in Flushing, New York.

References

• Gonella, Catalina. “A Queens Woman Trusted a “Star Sitter” on Rover. Then Her Dog Went Missing.” Gothamist, 2025, gothamist.com/news/a-queens-woman-trusted-a-star-sitter-on-rover-then-her-dog-went-missing. Accessed 18 Feb. 2025.

• “Do You Accept Cats and Other Animals?” Help Center, 2024, support.rover.com/hc/en-us/articles/203063380-Do-you-accept-cats-and-other-animals. Accessed 18 Feb. 2025.

• Rover.com. “Insurance Question Do I Need... | Rover Q&a Community.” Rover.com, 2016, www.rover.com/community/question/47856/insurance-question-do-i-need-my-own-liability-insurance-to-dog-sit-on-rover/. Accessed 18 Feb. 2025.

• Rover.com. “Terms of Service.” Rover.com, 2024, www.rover.com/terms/tos/. Accessed 18 Feb. 2025.

• “What Are the Service Fees?” Help Center, 2016, support.rover.com/hc/en-us/articles/205385304-What-are-the-service-fees.

• “What Are the Sitter Cancellation Policies?” Help Center, 2024, support.rover.com/hc/en-us/articles/201173720-What-are-the-sitter-cancellation-policies. Accessed 18 Feb. 2025.

• “What If There’s an Emergency?” Help Center, 2024, support.rover.com/hc/en-us/articles/202838294-What-if-there-s-an-emergency. Accessed 18 Feb. 2025.