Client won’t pay for damages, what can I do?
Recently I had a clients dog chew at the door frame to my bedroom because he had separation anxiety. The owner did not disclose that the dog had separation anxiety and I found out on the first day. The stay was for 4 nights, the first two nights he slept on the bed (mind you in my settings I put that dogs are not allowed on the bed) however I allowed it but I couldn’t sleep well and after telling the dog various times to get off the bed I decided to close the bedroom doors. He seemed to be doing fine in the living room space but overnight it appeared he tried to get to me and chewed at the door frame. Obviously the first thing I did was check the dogs well being and he was healthy. I reported it to the client and she had told me it was my fault for not leaving my door open. Keep in mind that I have other obligations ( I work remotely) which would mean that I should get rest to function throughout the day. The doorframe took $50 to repair (the apartment would have almost charged me $100) and I asked the client at the end of the stay if she could reimburse $35 for supplies bought. She refused to pay and had told me that on the care info it says to check in on the dog every 4 hours even throughout the night and proceeded to tell me I lack pet care skills. I understand that the Rover app tends to favor the client and that there is no protection of property for the sitter. At this point I don’t care for the money, but I don’t want this client to put other sitters what she had me go through. What can I do to prevent this?