Woman Uses Hidden Camera To Check On Pet Sitter

http://www.thewgalchannel.com/news/5028577/detail.html
:eek: :( :mad: What I can't figure out is why didn't they post this so called pet sitters name? :confused:

Woman Uses Hidden Camera To Check On Pet Sitter
Sitter Allegedly Not Putting In Time She Said


LANCASTER, Pa. -- Pet owners will do a lot to protect and provide for their pets, including hiring someone to take care of the animals when they can't.

But how can you make sure the pet sitter you're hiring is the right person for the job?

News 8 consumer reporter Brian Roche has the story of one pet owner who answered that question with a hidden camera.

Hunter and Winston are Weimaraners, a German hunting dog known to be friendly, fearless and obedient. They're also known to have high energy.

Nicky Stouch and her husband work long hours, so she hired a pet sitter to come to her house and take care of her dogs when needed.

"The guilt of leaving a dog in a crate for 10 hours ... It was a peace of mind for me once I hired one," Stouch said.

For three years, Stouch employed the same woman until she got into a conversation with someone about having a pet sitter.

"I actually said, 'Oh I have a great pet sitter.' He said, 'Who do you use?' I said her name and he said, 'That's who I just fired,'" Stouch said.

Within 48 hours of that conversation, Stouch had set up a hidden camera in her home to see if what she was told was true.

*VIDEO: See What The Camera Caught* (click news link above)

"So I wanted her to come between 10 and 11, whatever suited her best, and then one more time in the afternoon," Stouch said.

After running the hidden camera for just one day, Stouch discovered she may not be getting what she was paying for.

Instead of coming twice a day to walk and exercise her dogs for a half hour each time, the pet sitter appears only once on the tape.

"They were outside for about four minutes. That was their playtime, so they probably just went to the bathroom," Stouch said.

Even though the pet sitter is only seen once on the 12-hour tape, she left a card saying she was there at 10:45 a.m. and at 3 p.m. that day.

The next day, Stouch ran the camera again. This time she positioned a clock in the picture to display the time.

"And this visit is at 1:15 p.m. and again, she's supposed to come at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m."

Even though she appears on the tape only once, the pet setter once again left a note saying she was there twice.

On the third day, it was the same routine. One appearance on the tape and two times left on the pet sitter's card.

On the fourth day, the dogs are seen near the front door looking out the window and waiting.

"Look, he's laying by the door because it's 20 minutes to 2 p.m. He hasn't been out since 7 a.m."

On this day, the pet sitter's note claims she visited at 9:45 a.m. and 2 p.m., but she's seen only once on the tape.

According to Stouch, she had been using the same pet sitter for three years and feels guilty because she believes her dogs were not getting the attention she thought they should be getting.

Now she wants other pet owners to learn what's she learned about hiring a pet sitter.

Pet sitting is a fast growing cottage industry. Some pet sitters have hundreds of clients and several employees to help them.

But the industry is completely unregulated, leaving pet owners pretty much on their own.

Stouch said the pet sitter she hired only got the job because she was the first one to return a phone call.

"It was my own fault, that's why I blame myself for this. I didn't do anything a good consumer should do," Stouch said.

Pet Sitters International is a group that tries to self-regulate its industry and educates pet owners about hiring a sitter.

"You have an interview with the actual sitter you're considering. Make sure they're bonded and insured," said Tina Ovensen, of Pet Sitters International.

Pet Sitters International encourages pet owners to talk to their pets' veterinarian to find a qualified sitter and check out the group's Web site at www.petsit.com for other questions to ask.

The Stouch's have established an e-mail address at [email protected] for people to contact.

thanks, now i know i have to be very careful about paying a pet sitter, i'll just get my grandma......people thease days.

They didn't post her name because they don't NEED to? It's confidentiality and of course if her name was posted she'd start being harassed for what she did.

I know when I get kids or a dog sitter, unless its my own family members, you can be damned sure I'm going to have a camera set up and hooked to my computer to record everything.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Flatcoatluver

thanks, now i know i have to be very careful about paying a pet sitter, i'll just get my grandma......people thease days.

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This was just one case...there are many responsible pet sitters out there, just have to go by word of mouth, and get references. I do occasional pet sitting for cats (haven't branched out to dogs yet) and end up getting calls from other people who got my name from the people I do sit for. Much of what I do involves medicating, and sometimes insulin shots, and there aren't enough qualified people that do that sometimes twice a day. ;) But if your grandmas willing and able...all the better. :)

I really should get into Pet Sitting. Though I don't know where to start or advertise or how I'd get there until I get my second car back from my parents-in-law (they're borrowing it temporarily).

I'm lucky cause if I go away, my dad takes care of my pets. Atleast my dogs...He will play with my kitties and feed them, but not the box. My mom would do that for me. My dad is almost always home (he works home) so there is someone home when I'm at work. I can't say I'd even trust a petsitter....I ONLY trust my dad and mom with my pets. And some friends I know who are good with their own dogs

My brother used to dogsit for my neibor. He stayed over there all day and he even slept there. I couldn't live with myself if I put something that stated that I was there 2times when I was there only once. Especially when there are live animals involed.

This brings back bad memories.

My old dog went through heel at the kennel we took him to, he came back torn up & hes not a fighter.

I even went through the bad babysitter. Being left out in the rain & cold was great! I also loved getting yelled at & tossed against the wall when the sitters daughtor did something wrong (I was outside & she was inside).

Its SOOO hard to find a good sitter & when you do, they move away :(

I was just relieved when it didn't say anything about the animals being abused. Yeah, she wasn't doing her job, and, that's crappy. But, I was expecting worse. I certainly wouldn't get a pet sitter or go to a doggie day care without doing a lot of research first. Poor puppies. :(

I used to Pet Sit for a friend when she'd go on vacation. She and her husband had two horses, three dogs and a cat. I would actually stay the night at the house when I could.

Hidden cameras are a good idea, but I was expecting something worse when opening this article- luckily, it wasn't.

Laura (Uabassoon) used to petsit through a local agency and they would have them call from the petsit's home phone each time they came and left to make sure they come each time they said.

WOW! That is ridiculous! Good thing I read this as I am ready to hire a sitter during the day for Whiskey and Frankie here in a bit. Now I might think twice and just continue taking them to work with me! :eek:

My friend's family used to hire someone from their vets to walk their mini schnauzer and once on a day off from school when they forgot to call her to tell her not to come I was over at their house and she took him out for about 5 minutes, and said he didn't poop. They suspected that is why he was later pooping in the house.

I wonder how much money this woman made in the three years of "pet sitting".

The worst story I ever heard was from a friend of mine. She had family troubles and had to leave for Germany. The only person she could find to stay in her house with her cats and puppy was a co-worker she had known a couple of months. She gave him a couple of hundred dollars for food and payment in advance. After 7 days she came home to find that the person had stolen more money (she always kept a stash in her bedroom) and left her animals alone with just a bag of dog food dumped on the floor. Poor animals had been there with no one looking after them, almost no water, living in their own **** for days. :mad: