‘Outrageous’ advert for dog sitter offers just £2.35 an hour

7 July 2022, 10:52

By Naomi Bartram

@naomibartram

A woman has been slammed for trying to get a dog sitter to work five days a week for just £200 a month.

A woman has been criticised after she shared an advertisement to look after her puppy.

Posted on Reddit, the advert explains how the pet owner expects her employee to work from 10am to 3pm every Monday to Friday.

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This would include taking constant care of her Australian shepherd poodle, which currently only weights 3lbs, for around £200 a month.

The piece of paper states: "Seeking dog sitter. Weekdays (MTWTF) 10am to 3pm. £200 per month. You can hang out at my apartment or bring her back to yours."

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There has been plenty of criticism since the advert was shared, with some people saying the money would barely cover the cost of petrol to and from the owners house.

"The thing that really gets me though is them expecting the dog sitter to pay for the petrol,” commented one person, adding: “That is the stupidly exploitative part. £200 a month ain't even covering the petrol to get to the dog."

A professional dog sitter also blasted the wage as way too low.

They explained: "We usually only accept bookings in either 30 minute or 1hr duration, which have their own prices, or they're paying for a full house sitting.

"Assuming we'd do this booking (ludicrous, we have 40 clients we service regularly) for 'day care' we charge £10 per hour at five hours per day. At £50 per day for five days per week, it works out to be £250 per week or a clean £1,000 per month.

A third Reddit user added: "If you're expected to feed the dog, provide it with toys and a bed (if you take it to your own house), then I don't see how £200 is going to cover it. You might end up loosing money, especially for the first few months."

But some people said they would jump at the chance of looking after a puppy, with another writing: “If I am still working from home, I would 100 per cent take in a dog for the day. Especially if I don't have to worry about medical bills/food costs. Plus I get paid £200/month? Sign me up!"