pawshake.com

Hi Hannah, Thank you for your update. We appreciate that you have now provided further context about how you say the alleged surveillance affected you. However, this is the first time Pawshake is hearing of that connection. This is the first time you have told us that you considered the cameras to be the root of your mental health crisis. That matters because we investigated the circumstances using the information available to us at the time. In your message at the time to Pawshake, you explained: “My friends came to support me… Karen organised for her friends to collect Kiki. Karen was asked if she would like us to stay until the friends arrived and she said it was best if we didn’t.” You then said: “my ultimate goal was to make sure Kiki had the correct care and that I could deal with my own crisis.” You subsequently mentioned that the house had security cameras throughout the property, that you were unaware of them, and that this was “very distressing and uncomfortable”. But at no point did you tell us that discovering the cameras had caused or triggered the mental health crisis that resulted in the booking ending. Nor did you provide the details you are now presenting publicly: that a camera was allegedly in the bathroom, that it recorded audio and video, or that the alleged surveillance caused a trauma response. Those are significant details, and they are being presented as central to the circumstances for the first time now. Had you reported undisclosed surveillance equipment to us at the time, particularly in an area where there is a reasonable expectation of privacy, we would have treated it as a serious safety concern and investigated it. Pawshake does not permit surveillance in areas where users have a reasonable expectation of privacy. We did follow up with the owner regarding what happened. Our decision considered information from both parties, including your own explanation given at the time, and the fact that the booked service ended only a few hours after it began, requiring the owner to make urgent alternative arrangements for their puppy. You may have subsequently been asked to leave, or told it was best not to remain until the owner's friends arrived. That does not change the circumstances that preceded that request or the fact that the agreed service had already broken down. Describing this simply as “doing exactly what the owners asked” therefore omits important context. We also reject the suggestion that Pawshake simply “sided entirely with the host”. We considered the information provided by both parties and followed up on the circumstances. You were given an opportunity to explain what happened, and you did so. Your contemporaneous account necessarily formed part of our assessment. We understand that you now believe the cameras were the underlying cause of your crisis. However, you did not tell us Pawshake at the time. Pawshake cannot reasonably be expected to make a decision based on a causal connection that was never communicated to us and is only being made explicit after the fact. If undisclosed surveillance was the fundamental safety issue, the appropriate course would have been to report that concern to Pawshake immediately and provide the relevant details so it could be investigated. Instead, the booking ended, the surveillance concern was only raised afterwards, and the significant additional context now being presented publicly was not provided to us when we made our decision. We appreciate that you found the experience distressing. Nevertheless, we stand by our original response and the action taken based on the information available to us at the time. You are entitled to describe your experience publicly; equally, readers should have the benefit of the contemporaneous information Pawshake actually received when the decision was made. Kind regards, Pawshake Support

Hi Richard, Thank you for taking the time to share your experience. We're sorry to hear that you've been disappointed by the outcome of several Meet & Greets. We appreciate how frustrating it can be when you're trying to organise care for your pets and a booking does not proceed as expected. It may help to clarify that a Meet & Greet is intended to be a no-obligation meeting for both owners and sitters. We strongly encourage these meetings because they allow both parties to assess whether the arrangement is the right fit before committing to a booking. If either party has concerns about any aspect of the proposed service, they are free to decide not to proceed. Pawshake sitters are independent pet care providers who use our platform to manage and promote their own services. They are not Pawshake employees, and the decision whether to accept or decline a booking ultimately rests with the sitter. While we understand that it can be disappointing when a sitter initially appears positive about a booking and later decides not to proceed, we would encourage you to ask prospective sitters for honest feedback when this occurs. As you mention that this has happened more than once, their feedback may help identify any factors influencing their decision, whether that relates to the pets' care requirements, behavioural considerations, the location, travel time, scheduling commitments, or other aspects of the booking. Understanding those reasons may help you address any concerns early and improve your chances of finding a sitter whose experience, availability and preferences are better aligned with your needs. We wish you all the best in finding the right sitter for your pets and appreciate your feedback regarding the process. Kind regards, Pawshake Support Updated response: We do understand the distinction you are making in your update. Your concern is not that sitters are permitted to decline after a Meet & Greet; it is that, having indicated during the meeting that they were happy to proceed, they subsequently changed their mind. However, there is an important point here. You say that this has happened with several sitters and that, in at least one case, you specifically asked the sitter more than once to tell you during the Meet & Greet if they had any reservations, and they nevertheless chose to decline later. A Meet & Greet is intended to give both parties an opportunity to make an assessment in person. While you may invite a sitter to be completely candid about any concerns, you cannot require them to reach a decision immediately or to feel comfortable expressing every reservation face-to-face. A sitter may only reflect on the arrangement afterwards and decide that it is not right for them. Where this has happened repeatedly, it may therefore be worth considering not only whether sitters are being sufficiently upfront, but also whether the Meet & Greet is creating an environment in which prospective sitters feel comfortable expressing reservations honestly at the time. We cannot know why an individual sitter chose not to proceed unless they tell you, and it would be inappropriate for us to speculate or attribute their decision to the condition of your home. What we can say is that Pawshake provides the platform and process for owners and independent sitters to find a suitable match; we cannot guarantee that a sitter will ultimately decide to accept a booking, even after a seemingly positive Meet & Greet. We appreciate that losing time when arranging pet care is frustrating, but the alternative would be to have a sitter proceed with a booking despite having reservations and potentially cancelling mid-way through, due to issues they did not feel comfortable raising with you in person. We believe it is ultimately better for a sitter to decline before the booking begins than to accept and subsequently discover that the arrangement is not suitable.

Hi RJ, Thank you for taking the time to leave your review and for sharing such detailed feedback. We're pleased to hear that you were able to connect with two regular clients quickly and that Pawshake has helped you get started as a dog walker. Regarding walk lengths, as outlined in our Help Centre, you're welcome to set your walks at whatever length you wish and charge accordingly. Our standard Dog Walking service is based on a 30-minute walk, but many sitters simply price that service at the rate they feel is appropriate. If you wish to offer longer walks, our Add-On Services feature was specifically designed for this purpose. Add-ons can be used to extend booking lengths, add travel charges, or account for additional requirements, and they can be added at any point before the booking is confirmed. On the topic of search visibility and travel distances, our research consistently shows that most pet owners prefer sitters who are local to them. While we appreciate that you are willing to travel further afield, we also need to consider the needs of owners and the sitters who are based in those areas. Owners often prefer nearby sitters because it makes regular care arrangements, meet & greets, and last-minute bookings much easier to manage. You are welcome to increase your service radius, but in practice owners are generally less likely to contact sitters who are located outside their local area. As for payouts, payments are processed as quickly as possible once a booking has concluded. In most cases, payouts are released within 2–3 business days after the service ends, allowing time for any booking adjustments or issues to be raised by either party post-service. From your description, it sounds like this may have been a last-minute booking that was paid for shortly before the service began. You see, funds must first settle into our secure escrow account before they can be paid out. Depending on the owner's payment method, this settlement process can take up to 3 business days and can be further affected by weekends and public holidays. Once released, payouts then need to settle into your own bank account, which typically takes a further 2–3 business days depending on your bank. We appreciate your feedback and will continue working to improve the platform. Thank you again for giving Pawshake a try, and we're glad to hear it has already helped you build your client base. Kind regards, Pawshake Support

Hi Chad, Your public review is difficult to reconcile with your private correspondence with our Support team. In your appeal, you explicitly acknowledged that you had violated Pawshake's policies, accepted full responsibility for your actions, apologised for the breach, and asked for a second chance. You also stated that you understood why your account had been suspended and assured us that you would comply with our Terms of Service in the future. However, your public review now claims that your account was blocked "without exact evidence." That is simply not an accurate representation of what occurred. Your account was suspended after you sent a message to a client stating: > "Generally speaking, if you confirm the time and choose me, you can pay directly." Requesting or encouraging payments outside the Pawshake platform is a clear breach of our Terms of Service. These rules exist to protect both pet owners and sitters by ensuring bookings remain covered by our platform protections and support. Your own appeal demonstrates that you understood both the nature of the breach and the reason for the suspension. It is therefore disappointing to see those same facts publicly denied in a way that does not reflect your previous admissions. We appreciate that account suspensions can be upsetting, and we carefully review every appeal on its individual merits. However, we also have a responsibility to apply our marketplace rules consistently and fairly to all members. Pawshake Support

Hi there, Thank you for taking the time to leave a review. We were surprised to read your comments, as we have been unable to identify the incident you are referring to from the information provided. We take allegations of owners being threatened, inappropriate conduct by our staff, or failures relating to our services extremely seriously. If something has occurred that falls below our standards, we would genuinely like the opportunity to investigate it and take appropriate action. Unfortunately, your review does not contain enough information for us to identify the booking, support ticket, sitter, owner, or incident in question. We have therefore been unable to locate any record that matches the concerns you have raised. We would also like to ask whether this review relates to a genuine experience with Pawshake. The only correspondence we have been able to locate that appears remotely similar is an Android app review left in 2023 under the name "Clear Review", which questioned the legitimacy of Pawshake in broadly similar terms. Beyond that, we have been unable to find any support requests, complaints, bookings, or communications that would allow us to investigate the allegations made in your review. We are always willing to investigate complaints made in good faith. However, for that to occur, we need enough information to identify the matter being complained about. At present, we have no way of verifying the claims made in your review, nor do we have sufficient information to determine whether the review relates to an actual Pawshake customer experience. We would also respectfully note that Trustpilot's guidelines require reviews to be based on genuine experiences and prohibit misleading, false, or deliberately harmful content. We welcome criticism when it is genuine and supported by facts, and we regularly use customer feedback to improve our service. However, we are unable to address anonymous allegations that cannot be linked to any identifiable interaction with our platform. If your concerns are genuine, we invite you to contact us directly with details of the booking, support request, correspondence, or incident you are referring to. We will gladly review the matter and provide a response. We are committed to investigating legitimate complaints and learning from them where appropriate. At present, however, the lack of identifiable information means we cannot investigate, verify, or remedy the issues raised. Without further information, the review appears disconnected from any known interaction with Pawshake, making it difficult to assess its legitimacy or address the concerns raised. We remain happy to investigate should you wish to provide further details. Kind regards, Pawshake Support