Anonymous wrote:I wrote a negative post on Nextdoor about a negative experience I had with a pet sitter and asked for pet sitter recommendations. I stated what happened in the post but never actually stated the pet sitters name. Within 2 hours I started getting text messages from the pet sitter that they will sue me for this if it hurt their business and I should delete it asap. They were never identified and everything I wrote was true. I know this will almost certainly go nowhere but what would you do/advise please.

Ignore.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do you have any proof it's true? Pictures or something? They cant do anything if it's true

it’s true and their name is also not attached to the post. The post said” I am looking for recommendations for a new pet sitter. My last pet sitter came late and my dog was without water for hours. We are looking for someone responsible, licensed and bonded who does not treat this as a side business”. That is what I wrote. The pet sitter identified herself by texting me threats after she saw the post. I have ring cam footage of her coming later than the times she was supposed to.

I'd tell her you are going to call the police if she continues to threaten you.

Anonymous wrote:OP should post screenshots of the threats as comments to her Nextdoor post.

Yep – reminding folks that they did NOT post the name of the sitter, but since the sitter is now harassing them – it's fair game.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The dog being without water is on you. Buy a bigger dish, seriously, take some responsibility!

The dog has issues and knocks it over. This is why a pet sitter is supposed to come over mid day walk and water them. Are you said pet sitter?

You know they make weighted bowls, right? You don’t take any responsibility for yourself, just blame blame blame and be passive aggressive. Good luck with that.

not OP...if I'm paying someone to come at 2:00 and she doesn't show up until 5:00 I will never hire them again. I'm paying a pet sitter for a reason.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Tell her that if she contacts you again you will file for a protective order.

Then post all of that on Next Door.

She will STFU real quick if she knows what is good for her.

You can't get a protective order if someone is threatening to sue you.

Right? People act like judges just hand these out Willy nilly. For a PO you need to prove imminent threat.
OP- it likely that a dog sitter has the resources to hire a lawyer to sue you? I doubt it

Post her threatening text to you without any narrative. She can’t sue you for her own words.

zero chance a pet sitter is going to have the money to hire a lawyer

Anonymous wrote:Tell her that if she contacts you again you will file for a protective order.

Then post all of that on Next Door.

She will STFU real quick if she knows what is good for her.

You can't get a protective order if someone is threatening to sue you.

Anonymous wrote:This actually happened to one of DH’s friends after a negative Yelp review. First, he received an email threatening a lawsuit for defamation. He ignored it, but then the cease and desist came, asking him to remove the post. He ignored it and then the summons came. He was so willful, it ended up costing him a lot of hassle and money; he actually went to court, where he lost and ultimately had to remove the post anyway. Don’t be like DH friend.

But in this case the OP did not identify the business, so your example is nothing but trolling.

OP, you have nothing to worry about. The pet-sitter is crazy but ultimately fangless.

Separately:
1. You can find water fountains and weighted bowls. BUT -
2. If your dog is so restless that they're destroying or knocking over those, understand that being out of water for multiple hours in an air-conditioned house IS NOT A BIG DEAL. It won't give them a UTI, or cause them to be dangerously dehydrated. I've had dogs for ever, and I foster dogs for a rescue. You do everything you can as a dog-owner, naturally, but the reality is, dogs can go without water for hours at a time. That's what their canine counterparts do in the wild.

So please don't worry about the water, and don't worry about the dog sitter. Worry about finding someone who will reliably come and walk them and give them a drink. But if they're a little late some days, is that a big deal? Not really.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This actually happened to one of DH’s friends after a negative Yelp review. First, he received an email threatening a lawsuit for defamation. He ignored it, but then the cease and desist came, asking him to remove the post. He ignored it and then the summons came. He was so willful, it ended up costing him a lot of hassle and money; he actually went to court, where he lost and ultimately had to remove the post anyway. Don’t be like DH friend.

BS.

+1 No proof of this. We still have free speech in this country. You can't slander people, it's true, but you can post a negative review without fear.

I have no advice for the threats, but wonder if your dog would knock over a pet fountain.

https://www.rover.com/blog/dog-water-fountains/

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do you have any proof it's true? Pictures or something? They cant do anything if it's true

You don’t need proof, as it’s your opinion. You cant be sued for a review that states your opinion.

You can be sued for anything. Whether the person who does you can win is another story.

Here, while doorbell footage might show the pet sitter was late I don’t get how you would know the dog was out of water. And how late would definitely be an issue - were they 10 minutes later than the contracted time or six hours.

The pet sitter would not win this. You didn't even name them. And the people attacking the OP for insisting that the pet sitter come when they were supposed to are ridiculous.

Anonymous wrote:This actually happened to one of DH’s friends after a negative Yelp review. First, he received an email threatening a lawsuit for defamation. He ignored it, but then the cease and desist came, asking him to remove the post. He ignored it and then the summons came. He was so willful, it ended up costing him a lot of hassle and money; he actually went to court, where he lost and ultimately had to remove the post anyway. Don’t be like DH friend.

BS.

Tell her that if she contacts you again you will file for a protective order.

Then post all of that on Next Door.

She will STFU real quick if she knows what is good for her.

No lawyer would take on that case to represent the dog sitter. She would need to show proof that she was actually financially harmed because of false information.