Kelai

Kelai and JP are a wonderful, responsible duo. Her and her boyfriend were very acommodating in both showing up for our initial meet & greet to discuss the needs of my dogs, one in particular having anxiety and requiring special handling, attention and care. They both were committed to delivering quality service, asking all of the right questions, in depth details to ensure nothing was unleft from being discussed and any particular considerations. JP arrived early prior to the start of care which was very much appreciated and remained with my dogs for the day ensuring they ate, went for walks, played with and cared for. They were absolutely adoring him as he said goodbye when I returned home. It's always nice to see your pets approving of the care they've had during the day which is a slam dunk win to know they were in good hands with JP. I will certainly be using their services going forward and highly recommend this adorable couple. Thank you Kelai and JP from Joey and Maggie and Suz.

Kelai took good care of my dog, feeding and playing with him every day, taking him for 2 walks a day, and sending 2 pictures a day or so. She made sure to complain about how much my dog pulled on the leash every walk - which I know he does, that's why I hired a private pet sitter in the first place - but that's not the main topic of my review.

Having Kelai over at my house was not a pleasant experience at all. At the first encounter, everything was fine, no questions asked - but prior to having her over, I once again asked if she had any questions before she arrived at my place. I left 5 AM to the airport, her boyfriend thankfully arrived around 7 AM as agreed, but she arrived late in the evening on that day, which was when she sent a very disconcerting message complaining about how "dirty" the bedding was due to dog fur, and the fact that there was no double duvet.

Ps.: I provided a clean mattress, clean bedsheets, a clean single duvet and 2 clean blankets, but apparently, that was not enough by her standards.

I expect more flexibility and less of a sense of entitlement from dog sitters, given the fact that:

1) they take care of dogs

2) dogs shed

3) there might be fur in the bedding even if they were just recently washed

4) I'm the one paying you good money to sleep at my place

5) my house is not an Airbnb.

Her lengthy message complaining about the sheets was followed by passive-aggressive suggestions such as:

1) buying new beddings of her choice so that she and her boyfriend could use

2) hiring a cleaning professional while she was there

3) handing over my dog to someone else - with no reimbursements, of course.

How could I think of a solution if I was in another country and it was midnight? Well, I didn't have to, because she had brought her own stuff before sending her suggestions, which made clear that she just wanted to make me uncomfortable for the entirety of my trip.

Having said that about the duvet overreaction, I would never hire her again, and would never recommend her to anyone ever. She definitely doesn't have a pawsitive attitude as her profile implies.

RESPONSE FROM SITTER:

Rodrigo agreed to have my boyfriend and I pet sit together. 2 months before the petsitting appointment, Rodrigo had me and my boyfriend visit his home for the Meet&Greet. At that time, the meeting with Rodrigo, Tulio and Merlot went smoothly and they agreed for my boyfriend and me to pet sit as a team. Rodrigo and Tulio showed us around the flat and pointed out where the food for the dog is and added a couple of details. We left with the promise of getting more information before the stay.

Despite requesting it earlier, we received the care instructions via a chain of 30+ WhatsApp messages at 10 pm the day before the stay was supposed to start, in addition to a new request of arriving at the flat by 6 am the next day. This was not discussed beforehand and is now received at very late notice. We still managed to change our plans to accommodate Merlot and to suit the hosts.

When arriving, and during the length of the stay, we respected all the instructions of the owners. We played with Merlot a lot, walked him when he was feeling like it, a minimum of twice a day and sometimes 3 times, respecting the feeding times and making sure Merlot was happy and under as little stress as possible. We kept sending pictures and keeping Rodrigo and Tulio updated throughout the day.

That being said, the home was not ready when we arrived and we raised our concerns the same day and immediately upon realization. Whereas Rodrigo and Tulio said that the bed was made and fresh sheets were set out, the bed had only a mattress cover and no sheet. There was no blanket and only 2 single fleece sofa throws. On top of that, the 2 pillowcases already on the pillows were not clean (sweat patches) and still smelled of body odour despite the hosts saying they were clean. I am not a picky person and have been pet sitting many times and that is the first time that I am not provided with an acceptable bed to sleep in.

After contacting Rodrigo and Tulio about this, they insisted the bed was ready by their standards and that I had unrealistic high standards/expectations. They suggested I look in their ottoman sofa for alternatives, which were:

- A single zebra duvet (whereas they agreed for both of us to pet sit); and

- Sheets covered in dog hair (dirty and unusable)

We arranged to go back to our home and get our own sheets and bring them to the flat, but we couldn't bring a duvet, meaning one of us was always cold at night as we only had a single zebra duvet. No further solution or compensation was suggested by Rodrigo and Tulio. We asked to have one purchase but this was not accepted by Rodrigo and Tulio.

We continued to take care of the dog and updated the owners the best we could to honour our Pawshake agreement. When the booking ended and Rodrigo and Tulio got back home, they didn't acknowledge our efforts towards Merlot despite the conditions they have put us in. Instead, they removed us from our group chat without a "thank you". For these reasons, I would never recommend pet sitting for Rodrigo and Tulio.

Upon reading the review of Rodrigo on my profile I see there are 2 false or unjustifiable comments, please see the summary here:

1. Rodrigo stated the notice from us regarding the bedding issues was sent at midnight, whereas in reality, we notified him at 1:36 pm. He responded to this message, so it is false that we send this as a late message.

2. Rodrigo also stated in his review that he provided clean sheets. I am happy to provide photos if required to prove this was not the case. What was provided either did not fit the bed or was dirty/used.