Dog Sitters in Lyonsville, NY

Shelley and Mark
-50% off
7.1 miles away
Limited time deal
4.73
• 15 reviews
/night 61.00
Owner Image

Shelley is a dangerous and incompetent housesitter. She should never be entrusted with anything more valuable than a houseplant. Her pet care was terrible. On the 2nd day she left our 2 dogs outside in the backyard, unattended on a 83-degree hot, humid summer day with no water for 90 minutes while she left our home to go out for a walk. We saw this on our Ring camera and immediately reported this to zeewoi (full complaint currently under investigation) and let her know directly how concerning this was for us. Not only was it unsafe to leave the dogs outside while she left the home, but it also went against clear instructions that were communicated to her in person during the handover and in writing about what to do with the dogs anytime she left our home. She repeatedly had trouble following basic instructions that were communicated verbally, in writing and in text reminders. She was incapable of following basic pet care requirements. We asked that only one of our 2 dogs be walked once a day (I did not want her walking the other stronger dog, because during the handover we went on a walk together and Shelley DROPPED our dog's leash). We use Fi collars, so we know that over the course of 11 days, Shelley brought our dog for only 4 walks. We did a phone interview with Shelley and never did she inform us that our medium sized, 40 pound dogs would be too much for her to walk. Additionally, Shelley traveled with her sister who clearly is unwell (likely dementia or some sort of developmental disability) and also was afraid and nervous around dogs. She never informed us of this, and it was clearly a huge safety issue. Shelley's sister let our INDOOR cat out multiple times (at least 4 times are seen on outside cameras). Sometimes our cat was left outside for 20+ minutes without Shelley or her sister realizing. This is so, so dangerous- we are on a main street with a lot of traffic. We are lucky our cat didn't get lost or killed under her "care." Shelley and her sister left our home in a terrible, and honestly gross and unsanitary, condition. A paper bag with human feces was found in our bathroom and made the entire 2nd floor of the house stink for days. The rug in my office was covered with urine- which makes me wonder if she locked my dogs in this room for extended periods of time. Our dogs are fully house trained and have never had any potty accidents. The kitchen was filled with flies, milk had been spilled in the refrigerator and never cleaned up (a gross film had formed by the time we got home). The blender was put away in the cabinet unclean. The recycle bin was filled with dirty trash- so much so that we got a notice from the city. She carelessly used metal utensils and scratched our Le Creuset dutch oven (which will now void its lifetime guarantee). Three brand new bars of soap were taken from our home, like they were some sort of hotel amenity. Shelley went into our basement storage freezer (which she had NO need to access) and took home 3 gallon bags (about 20lbs) of frozen tomatoes I had harvested before our trip from our garden. When I addressed this with her, she claimed her sister packed them by accident (which, if true, & your sister is so unwell that she's packing things from someone's home that are NOT HERS, she should not be allowed to travel with you). However, I don't believe that's the case- 20 pounds of tomatoes aren't really something that just sneaks by your consciousness- it's A LOT of tomatoes. Shelley was offended I accused her of stealing, but that's what she did. She ultimately returned them, knowing full well she was in the wrong. I'm not sure what else she might have taken from our home, as I didn't think I needed to take an inventory of our belongings and supplies before we left. Ultimately the sit ended when our one of our dogs ate some of a marijuana plant in the backyard (she had never shown interest before and we did not know the plant- with no flowers on it- was dangerous). We do not blame Shelley for that (even though it was probably from a time the dogs were not adequately supervised in the backyard); having the plant where dogs could access was our mistake, and one that will never be made again. The part that is extremely concerning is that it took Shelley nearly 2 hours to get our dog to the emergency vet from discovering the first symptoms (she first texted me at 6:26pm that our dog was unwell and "having seizures" and did not leave for the hospital until 8:12pm). And I am certain she never called the zeewoi vet emergency line. She eventually reached out to my mother (our emergency contact while we were in Europe) and my mom told her to go to the vet ER immediately. Afterwards Shelley stated via message, "I cried, prayed & hugged her throughout the incident." So, instead of getting prompt medical care for our dog (emergency vet was clearly listed in our printed out home instructions), she prayed for her. Unhelpful, incompetent and incredibly dangerous. I'm not sure how she has previous good reviews. We were shocked by the incompetency and complete inability to understand and follow simple, clear directions- there are, sadly, many more examples I could include here. We are grateful our girls survived having her stay in our home. I would hope no one else ever has to deal with such a horror. To finish things off, disapproving of the legal marijuana plant in the backyard and probably of our rainbow flag displayed on the front of the house, Shelley texted "You need prayers. Find a Bible based church to go to and get healed. I pray for your soul."

Sitter available from Oct 1
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Reviews from Dog Owners

4.93
4.93
4.96 Organised 4.96 Reliable 4.95 Clean and tidy 4.97 Self-sufficient 4.91 Pet care
User
Barrett
Sally was a wonderful sitter for our two Golden Retrievers, Sunny and Otis.  Less than a week before she was set to arrive from England, Otis had to go in for an unexpected surgery and was going to be in a big plastic cone for all eight days of her stay.  She was super adaptable, took it in stride, and made sure Otis had a good time but didn't get too rambunctious!  

Both pups were clearly well-cared for, and Sally followed all of our instructions diligently.  She communicated with us daily and sent photos of the dogs.  The house was in perfect order as well when we arrived home, neat and tidy, just as we'd left it.  

We would gladly have Sally back next time she's stateside!
User
Daniella
Samanta was amazing! We had a wonderful experience with her, she was incredibly communicative, responsible and friendly. We felt very comfortable leaving our two boys with her, as she wrote us updates and sent photos daily. You could tell she truly cared for them (and they loved her too)! She also left our place very tidy. We honestly couldn't have had a better experience with her! Thank you so much Sam!
User
Hannah
Timm was fantastic with our dog Nova and took wonderful care of our home. I highly recommend him to you. Nova bonded really quickly with Timm and got lots of love and attention from him. His communications made me feel very confident that she was in good hands. He also took good care of our plants over a very hot week which required more attention than I had expected. Thank you Timm for taking such good care of our dog and home.
User
Rachel
Had a lovely time with Moss & Millie in Rachel's cosy home. Rachel was really friendly and relaxed. Millie spent most of her time snoozing on the bed upstairs & was happy to see you for a neck rub & refill food & water. Moss is a star, super friendly, a bit cheeky but no problem if I popped out or going into his crate at night . I kept him in the lead walking around Penzance & once he was used to me we spent lots of time with him at the local beaches. A perfect first sit.

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As of Aug 2024, there are 189 dog sitters in Lyonsville, New York .
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