Pet Sitter Arrives At Home & Is Knocked Over After Opening The Crate — ‘The Owner Forgot To Tell Me Not To Let Him Out’
She admitted that she was scared for her life because she was not aware of the dog's aggressive behavior.
AnnaStills | Shutterstock A pet sitter was left in tears after arriving at the owner's house of the pet she was supposed to be watching, only to be met with a terrifying situation involving her and the owner's dog.
In a TikTok video, Naia emotionally explained how her recent experience with a client through the pet care app Rover left her shaken due to a lack of information regarding the dog's crate.
She arrived at the owner's house and was knocked over after opening the crate.
Naia explained that she was only filming this video for documentation purposes if, down the line, she needed proof of a recent experience at an owner's house. Clearly emotional and rattled, Naia said that she'd arrived at the owner's house to look after her dog for the day, and the dog, which was part Cane Corso, was sitting in its crate.
"The dog is huge. The owner failed to tell me to not open the crate. She meant to tell me to leave him in the crate until he napped. She never told me that until after I had already opened the crate," Naia admitted.
She opened the crate and allowed the dog to sniff her hand, expecting that he just needed to get acquainted with her until he could feel comfortable. However, that was not the case at all. She expected maybe a few excited jumps, but instead, the dog pounced on her, barked continuously in her face, and his snout was mere inches from her face.
Naia immediately became terrified that the dog was going to bite her. Since the dog was part Cane Corso, he pretty much towered over her, making the experience that much more terrifying.
"Luckily, there was a closet and I went inside and I hid there for a few moments just crying," she continued. Naia even wondered how she would get out of the closet without being bombarded by the dog, but was able to find a tennis ball to distract him while she escaped from the room altogether. Still at the owner's house, while recording the video, Naia questioned what she was supposed to do in this situation now.
Naia attempted to compromise with the owner, messaging her to let her know what had happened and offering to go out and buy her dog treats because it's easier for dogs to warm up to humans they might not know too well if there are treats involved, but the owner refused.
Naia even got on the phone with Rover support and safety but didn't receive a clear solution. While she didn't want to stay in the house with the dog because she was afraid, she also didn't want to leave the dog alone, especially because it would most likely impact her score.
She pointed out that it would be her word against the owners, who could write a negative review about the entire experience which would affect Naia's pet-sitting business and lower her overall score, meaning people would probably think twice about hiring her and therefore hurt her chances of making money.
As pet owners, like parents, we want to always give our pets the benefit of the doubt. They're not vicious, unfriendly, or mean. But it wouldn't have taken much for the owner to just be a bit clearer with Naia that while her dog was friendly and cuddly, it might be better to keep him in the crate and beware that he has a lot of energy and may pounce on her.
She was eventually able to leave the room and go back to the dog once she'd calmed down.
"I'm just too drained now after everything," Naia admitted in a follow-up video sometime after the initial incident. She explained that when she went back to the dog after taking some time to herself, nothing happened again. She ended up talking calmly to the dog to try and gauge his reaction to her presence.
However, still shaken and scared, she closed the door, separating herself from the dog once more because she needed more time to collect her bearings. However, that just made things worse.
"That's when he aggressively started pounding on the door and was about to knock it down," she said. Since the dog was smart, he would jump up and knock against the door handle, almost pushing the door open, all while barking quite loudly. Naia was forced to hold the handle with both of her hands just to keep the dog out.
Naia called 911, screaming and crying for help. She screamed down the apartment's hallway for someone to come, and finally, a neighbor heard and came to her rescue. She got help and managed to get out of the apartment in time.
It's clear that Naia was not only flustered and extremely frightened by this experience but also that the dog's owner didn't do her part to ensure that a pet sitter and her dog would be comfortable.
According to AKC, even the most docile dogs can become stressed in the presence of a new sitter, and that was clearly the case in this scenario.
She pointed out that there should've been a meet-and-greet beforehand so that she could've gotten acquainted with the dog before pet-sitting. In the past, she's worked with reactive dogs that have come to love her, but this wasn't the case here.
At the end of the day, pet owners shouldn't be afraid to be completely honest about their pets, including their quirks and aggressive mannerisms, if they have any. With this information, a pet sitter can act accordingly and not be caught off guard and scared for their life, like Naia was.
Nia Tipton is a Chicago-based entertainment, news, and lifestyle writer whose work delves into modern-day issues and experiences.