Rover promises a network of 'trusted sitters and dog walkers.' That wasn't enough to save these pets

Like many new pandemic pet owners, Nia Morgan knew her puppy, Zorro, had grown very attached to her due to all the time she spent at home with him. So she was understandably hesitant about leaving him for the first time with a sitter she'd hired through Rover, a popular platform for booking dog and cat sitters.

Morgan took what she thought were adequate steps to ensure her timid then 9-month-old poodle mix would be in good hands during an upcoming trip. She interviewed a Rover sitter and did a trial run -- dropping Zorro and a friend's dog off together with the sitter for the day. Zorro's "temperament was good," said Morgan, after picking up her dog, which made her feel comfortable enough to book the same sitter for a five-day trip. One day after she left, the sitter said her phone had broken and she was using her computer to send updates through the platform. Morgan said she wasn't sent photos of Zorro -- something that is typically common for sitters to do -- but she had been "satisfied with the in-depth messages" the sitter was providing.