You’re all familiar with AirBnB, right? Of course you are. Anything that’s linked to Ashton Kutcher tends to get a fair bit of attention. Well, Rover isn’t linked to Kutcher, but it is kind of like AirBnB. Well, it’s like AirBnB for your dog. Rover will connect dog owners to the perfect dog sitter while an owner is away. This site has been taking the pet world by storm, so I thought I’d give it a whirl. Here’s how Rover works.

Using the Rover Interface

Rover automatically detects your current location when you visit the site. From there, you can input the number of days that you will be away using a handy calendar. The site also asks you to include the size of your dog and whether your dog prefers to stay at home or sleep over at someone’s house. Then, just hit the Find Sitter button and Rover will look for a sitter in your area. When I conducted my first search, I did not find any sitters in my area. By changing the criteria to a popular city (New York City) and switching the dates around, Rover found a few sitters I could then look at.

Choosing a Dog Sitter

Dog sitters are rated according to feedback. Each sitter can also include any experience, degrees, or other information that’s pertinent. Looking at the badges listed next to a sitter’s name will reveal detailed information about that person. Each dog sitter has a different per night rate, and some sitters can reach up to $50 per night or more. The more reviews a sitter has, the more that person will charge for an overnight fee. If you are just looking for someone to walk your dog while you are away, fees are much less.

The site does not list any Canadian dog walkers at the moment, though cities like New York are bursting with people ready and willing to care for your pet. Many of these people also run pet sitting services and come with plenty of recommendations too. A number of sitters also have the Rover Donation badge, which is a badge doled out by the site to sitters who also donate to dog shelters. If you just want to donate a few bucks to a shelter, you can donate through the Rover site too. So, how do you know that the sitter you choose won’t run away with your dog?

Rover Security

Leaving your pet along with a complete stranger can be nerve wracking. Rover provides absolute security to pet owners. The site has all kinds of insurance coverage intact and all pet sitters must go through the Rover site first, which includes a questionnaire and some background checking. Much like AirBnB, Rover is a completely safe service to use, and you are totally covered if anything happens to your home while you are away. If you’re on the pet sitter side of things, note that you will have to go through a selection process, but the process time is painless.

Finding a pet sitter to take care of your dog while you are gone can be tough. Hopefully, Rover will fill that needed pet-sitting gap in most areas. Rover has just launched, so give the site some time before it reaches all corners of the globe. If you happen to be a pet sitter in your area, go ahead and sign up for Rover – you’ll get some extra cash and plenty of happy clients!