Dog Sitters in Hulshout

K

Chris and Alan were great sitters and took excellent care of Scooby

Elizabeth

I report this with regret because I did like her, but I cannot in good conscience recommend Kayla to be your house sitter. 

In short, Kayla abandoned the property in an unsecured state for up to 24 hours at a time, brought a stranger and his dog over without my permission, and did not provide water or food to my animals for extended periods. 

I arrived home to my dogs with empty water bowls and my chickens with an empty waterer. 

I have good relations with my neighbors. We all watch one another's property and keep an eye on the general goings on. My neighbor called me early one morning to report that Kayla,  who had left around noon the day previous,  had not returned for 24 hours, and my dogs were barking loudly all night and suffered through a rain storm. My neighbor went over to feed and check on the dogs for me and reported water bowls with just a splash of filthy rainwater and no food to speak of. My kitchen window was wide open as well, easily accessible to anyone who wanted in. 

I texted and called Kayla to find her phone shut off. I worried that she had perhaps gotten into a car accident or something, and was debating whether to contact the police when she texted back two and a half hours later claiming she had gone too far on a hiking trail the day before and she had to spend the night lost in the jungle and that her phone had died, and as such she had decided to spend the night out in the wilderness. 

If true, why in the world one would go hiking with an uncharged or remotely malfunctioning phone is a mystery to me, especially when one is entrusted with the care of a house and animals. Fespite this,  I could have accepted that accidents happen had my neighbor not then reported that Kayla showed up another two and a half hours after our text with a some guy and his dog - Kayla perfectly clean in a short skirt not indicative of a night spent sleeping in the rough,  and a young man whose identity I do not know and did not give permission to be in my home. And his dog! My neighbor sent pictures of this as it was happening. 

My dogs are quite dog reactive and could have harmed this guest dog - which Kayla knew- and they had been outside with no food or water for 24 hours at this point if not more. Before checking on them Kayla unloaded groceries and invited this strange man and his strange dog into my home, at which point I called and demanded to know who he was.

Kayla first claimed no one was there at all. When I told her I had proof,  then he was someone she met in her overnight ordeal on the trail and that he wasn't inside, but waiting outside. My neighbor did not see him outside but did see him go up the steps to my door. I told Kayla neither he nor his dog were welcome to be there and she left with him a couple hours later, doing god knows what in my home during that time. I am considering having the home re-keyed.

I at no point did I give Kayla permission to have guests at my home save one pre-agreed upon vetted person. Especially not some random man she claims helped her when she was lost on the trail  - he was also mysteriously bereft of a phone, I suppose, and she could not use his to contact me during the heroic rescue.

Kayla made zero effort to contact me - only responded to one text after I found out she had been gone 24 hours and then her phone was off - despite there being a charger in my car, charging cables at every grocery store on the island, and she had apparently made a friend who like most humans would have had a phone from which she could call me and let me know that she had left her post for whatever reason,  at which point my neighbor could check on the dogs and house. 

My neighbor also reported that there were several days previous to this that Kayla was gone the entire day, while my dogs were left out in the rain with while she arrived home well after dark. Considering that when I finally got home there was barely any water in any of their bowls, both inside and out,  and the chickens had maybe two fingers of algae ridden water in their waterer which had obviously neither been filled nor cleaned in the entirety of Kayla's stay, I have no doubt she was not here very much. The kitchen window was still open as well. 

To her credit my home was very clean when I arrived, except the bathtub.That said she also took the liberty of rearranging some of my furniture and belongings, and while the executive choices she saw fit to make weren't bad ones, they also weren't consensual ones. It looked as though it had been cleaned once, very well,  a week ago,  after which she hadn't been there much,  with aligns with what my neighbor reported.

Kayla also took it upon herself to share some personal information of mine with my neighbor's husband, something I had said to Kayla but had not yet shared with them regarding my property. I do not appreciate that. 

To her credit Kayla did applogize profusely for all of this,  but those apologies were paired with a constantly shifting story. Apparently she wasn't sorry enough to give my dogs or chickens water so I'm not terribly moved.

I wouldn't advise anyone to allow Kayla to care for their home or animals after this experience. She is negligent, dishonest, and disrespected my home. My property and pets were ultimately fine, but the stress was not worth It.

Michael

Sara Beth came back for a second sit and she was wonderful again. We actually were able to meet this time and it was great to get to know her! The house looked so tidy and Manny was just pleased with her I’m sure. Thanks Sara Beth - I hope we get you to come back to Rochester for another sit some day!!