Homeowner Feels Fooled After Discovering Pet Sitter Secretly Invited Friends Over While Not Spending Time with the Pets

A homeowner has shared her frustration after discovering that her trusted pet sitter was hosting guests and neglecting her duties.

Posting on the community forum Mumsnet, the homeowner explained that she had a long-standing arrangement with her cleaner to also care for her pets whenever the family was away. “We had an agreement when this started that we would prefer she didn’t have visitors apart from her long-term boyfriend. He is away at the moment,” the homeowner wrote. “She was totally on board, and said she would feel the same if it was her house.”

Despite paying the pet sitter “really really well” and leaving “lots of treats including fresh flowers,” the homeowner said she learned through her neighbor that the sitter was breaking their agreement.

“Our neighbor texted me to say there are people coming and going from our house and sent me her Ring doorbell footage,” she explained. “Not only is she having friends over, she isn’t actually spending time with the animals or cleaning as the rest of the time she has been out.”

The homeowner said she didn’t mind the sitter having a social life but felt “taken for a ride” since she was clearly not fulfilling her responsibilities. Hoping to give the woman an opportunity to come clean, she reached out to her directly.

“I have messaged her to see how she is, hoping she would be honest about her friend coming over and staying for hours in our house, but she has continued to lie to me,” she said. “I feel like I can’t trust her now.”

Mumsnet users were quick to offer advice. One commenter wrote, “I’d sack her and find someone new. The having friends over isn’t too terrible, but not looking after the animals would be the deal breaker for me. It’s s— for the animals and it’s s— for you.” Another agreed, adding, “She needs to be sacked and hopefully learn that you do often get caught when you take your employer for a fool.”