Pet Sitters in West Park, NY

Shelley and Mark
-48% off
3.2 miles away
Limited time deal
4.73
• 15 reviews
/night 58.00
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 Pet 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
Randy & Becki
I had a wonderful time sitting for Randy and Becki and caring for their two cats Koz and Nuki! Randy and Becki were totally open to my friend Greg (a huge cat lover) to do the sit with me, which was awesome. Salida is a lovely community and Randy and Becki live in its outskirts in a newer development. Their house is spacious with all the comforts of home and the views spectacular! Greg and I hiked five days a week during our stay, which was awesome. As Becky is in the fitness industry, she was able to give some great hiking recommendations. Their home also has a hot tub, which was so lovely after a long hiking day. 
Koz is an older cat and on the thin side so Greg and I really worked hard to put some weight on him. I think we succeeded with a pound or so. Nuki is an obese middle age cat and so I was on a mission to help her lose some weight and I think she lost a pound or so. Both wonderful kitties with their own personalities! Very easy to take care of. We'd feed them in the morning and be off hiking for 4 hours give or take and then feed them again when we got back. They both got a little bit before bedtime and Koz had access to extra dry food 24/7. I put it on the guest bathroom counter, which Nuki wasn't able to jump up to. It seemed to work really well and both cats were very content. I highly recommend this sit for anyone who is interested in Salida. Lots of outdoor activities in both summer and winter.
User
Linda
Silvius and Phoebe just rearranged my list of top five favorite felines! Linda's house is super cozy, views are amazing, and the quaintly chic town of Benicia area is a 15 minute walk away. (Don't miss One House bakery!) 

I thoroughly enjoyed my time at Linda's and slept really well, which is key when staying in someone else's home. All very inviting... Linda has the goldilocks touch!
User
Maria Julia
I had a great experience taking care of Jazz and Aladdin! They’re very sweet, calm and easy to take care of. They very quickly become comfortable around me so we went for longs walks and had a great time together. 
It was very easy to communicate with Maria. She provided all the information I needed and was very quick to respond. The house is quite well located in Cascais. You’re 20 min away from the center of the village, by foot. I quite enjoyed the days during this sitting with Jazz and Aladdin! I definitely recommend this sitting.
User
Emily
I had a lot of fun with these rambunctious and playful pups. It was hilarious to have them all pile on me as I sat on the couch. 

Emily's home was clean and spacious and had a full gym available. The location was great - 10-15 mins to Bend. There were neighbors close by and the property accessible to roam was a few fenced-in beautiful acres that were snowy at the time. 

Emily was very kind and thorough in her communication before and throughout to ensure I had everything I needed to hang with her pups. 

The pups were very sweet and playful and came when called. Note: This sit is best for folks who have good balance - the pups are playful and large and jump up.
User
Mark
We had a fantastic time here in Santa Fe. Mark was such a gracious host and gave us everything we needed to enjoy this to the fullest. They have a beautiful home in a gorgeous neighborhood, lots of great views with an arroyo right in the back yard. Perfect for walks/hikes/etc. Emmett is the sweetest cat. He is such a lovebug and will cuddle with you and follow you around nonstop. We both fell in love with him instantly. I can't speak more highly of Mark and this sit as a whole. It was a wonderful time, 10/10.
User
Deanna
Deanna has a lovely home that feels like a retreat in the mountains but is also very close to the center of Missoula and all the main attractions. It’s spacious, comfortable and relaxing.
Free is an awesome dog! He is easy to care for and he loves his walks or just chilling in the garden. He’s not a fan of other dogs and likes to defend his home but overall no issues. He chose to sleep with me some nights and others he just did his own thing. He has a very sweet personality. Highly recommend this sit!

Pet Sitting FAQs

From $35/week to $125/week for the cat sitting and from 29.9950 to 29.99150 for the dog, additional rates include from 50% to 100% per additional pet, cheap rates are 29.9940 for the cat sitting and 29.99 for the dog sitting. On Sittsy you can find a pet sitter who will not charge you anything for keeping your pets at home.

Yes, you can find a home pet sitter to stay in your house with your pet overnight and provide 24/7 care for your pets. You can include in your listing time the advisable timeframe that the pet sitter should adhere to and not leave your pet alone in the house. Usually, it's not to leave the pet alone for more than 4 hours.

The pet sitter for the cat should visit at least once a day. For the dogs, the pet sitter should visit at least three times per day, the best solution is if the sitter stays overnight and watches your pets all the time.

Look at the pet sitter with a high rating, and many previous bookings with good reviews, ask the sitter to make a meet and meet before confirming the booking online or in-person, and reach out to the pet owners where the sitter stayed before asking about reference.

Common red flags in pet sitters are bad reviews from previous pet owners, a high cancellation rate after approval, a sitter who doesn't have a background check, a sitter who refuses to meet and greet in person or online, and a sitter who wants to make bookings outside of the platform.

Yes, it is safe to hire a pet sitter it's still advisable to see if the sitter has a background check, good reviews, and past bookings and make a meet and greet before confirmation in this way you can reduce risk to the minimum.

Yes, pet sitters stay all day in your house and also they stay overnight, the sitter can leave your home for up to 4 hours or for a different time that you can discuss during the meet and greet.

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