Rover dog-sitting app: A great side hustle?
Graphic by Sophie Nemo
As a college student, having a dog would be the perfect way to de-stress, get outside and have company while studying. However, for many students, owning a pet isn’t realistic due to housing concerns, overall workload and city life.
I then discovered the Rover app on TikTok, through a video highlighting easy side hustles for college students.
The Rover app is a great way to enjoy all the fun of having a college dog, no ownership needed. It is an app that connects pet owners with reliable sitters and dog walkers in the area.
My roommates and I really missed having a dog around and decided to give it a try. After a couple of dog-sitting experiences through Rover, we can easily say it's the most enjoyable side hustle for college students.
What is Rover?
Rover is an app where you can create a pet-sitting profile to connect with owners looking for dog or cat care. Services you can provide include boarding in your own home, daycare and dog walking.
Sitters get paid on a nightly basis and can set their own rates(My rate is $27 a night). Rover takes a small portion of earnings, but owners typically tip you the lost rate at the end of the stay. There is a $35 sign-up fee, but again, it pays for itself after one boarding.
For boarding, the pets are dropped off at your home by the owners, so it's perfect for students without cars. You can choose to accept or decline boarding requests based on the pets that are a good match for your standards and lifestyle. Overall, Rover is extremely flexible and a great way for college students to make some extra money.
The Process
The app is easy to use and focuses on the comfort of both the owners and the sitters. It is such a simple process and takes little extra time.
The process goes something like this:
The owner reaches out with a boarding request with details on the dates, pay and pet.
You have the choice to accept or decline the request.
Once accepted, the owner will either request a brief meeting prior with the pet-sitter to make sure its a good fit, or they will skip that, and negotiate a time to drop the pet off.
The owner drops the pet off at your place with everything the pet needs (food, water bowl, treats, crate, leash, etc).
You can communicate with the owner during the stay and it is highly recommended to send daily pictures with an update.
At the end of the stay, the owner comes to pick their pet up.
You will receive reviews and payment through Rover two to three business days after your stay.
During the stay, there are only a few responsibilities that you need to take care of. It depends on the individual dog, but we typically feed twice, take them out to the bathroom, refill water and take two walks a day.
Dog-Sitting Through Rover as a College Student
Our experience with dog-sitting with Rover has been amazing so far.
Something that makes dog-sitting in college much easier is having multiple roommates with a different schedule. If I’m busy at night, it's likely that one of my other roommates will be able to feed the dog or take it out.
The first dog we watched was an adorable English Springer Spaniel named Ruby. I was a bit nervous to start dog-sitting, but it ended up being super easy. We had her for two nights and she was so much fun to take care of.
My roommates and I would play with her in our apartment courtyard and we took her to the Minneapolis farmers market.
One of my favorite dogs we took care of was an English Bulldog named Hennie. He was so funny and loved to play with the toys his owners brought with him.
The owner loved that we sent daily updates and eventually became a regular client of ours. They even started scheduling boarding with me outside of Rover and paid me on Venmo, which got rid of the service fee.
My roommates shared some of their thoughts and experiences with Rover with me:
“My favorite dogs to watch were Webster and Pippin,” Bella Khan, a Senior at the University of Minnesota said. “They were so cute and so much fun to watch, I would definitely recommend using Rover if you love dogs and want to make some money.”
“It’s so nice to come home to a dog after class and always having company,” Akio Mattie, a Senior at the University of Minnesota said. “I get so sad when they leave and I come home and there's no one there.”
Experiences with Cat-Sitting
We started Rover when we lived in an apartment building near campus and really wanted to get a pet but knew that it was not a good idea while we were in school. To start out, we cat-sat through Rover and booked a stay for two cats right after we signed up.
“If I could sum up our first time cat-sitting in one word it would be horrible,” Mattie said.
I do not recommend cat-sitting through Rover unless the cat requested has multiple previous positive reviews on its profile. Our mistake was we said “yes” to cats that have never been boarded previously.
The two cats arrived at our apartment and immediately ran to hide under our beds. One cat did not eat or come out from under the bed the entire stay, while the other cat wouldn't let us get within three feet without hissing and attacking us.
Apart from being extremely aggressive, the cat also had diabetes, which required a single shot of insulin in its neck every morning. Picture this: my roommates and I dressed in multiple layers and baking mitts every morning to stick a needle in a cat's neck that wouldn't even let you walk near it.
Our moral of the story: cats don’t like being in new and unknown environments. Granted, our second time cat-sitting was much better with an extremely sweet cat.
Overall, we would rather stick with dogs.