I used to run a blog for dog sitters in Denver and I was scrolling through old posts and found this crazy post from a sitter a few years ago. I thought you guys might like it over here:
January 19:
Hi DogSittersofDenver! My name is Abby, and i’m a dog sitter. I’ve never posted here before, but I was hoping to get some advice for a dog i’m watching. Her name is Sadie, and she’s a supermutt, some sort of pitt bull/chihuahua mix by the looks of it but i’m not really sure. Her owner, Eleanor, went to the Bahamas and hired me to watch Sadie in my apartment. I live in downtown Denver, just below Cap Hill.
Sadie is pretty cute and well behaved, though she’s reactive to other dogs and some people on walks. Overall though, she’s sweet and she sleeps a lot when we’re home which is really nice.
The first few days were pretty easy. She gets a little restless at night, but usually settles down. I hung out with her at home while I worked, and then took her across the street to the churchyard to play ball every day. There’s no fence, but I let her off leash and she generally knows to stay on the grass. On the 4th day though, we were playing in the yard and a man came out of the door to the church. Sadie went nuts, running up to him and growling and barking. I was really embarrassed, and got her back on a leash and apologized to the man. He was older, probably in his mid to late 60s with a long beard, which maybe freaked her out. I’ve never seen him before, but the church is sort of a center for homeless people, so people are always in and out. I felt super bad, and apologized again. He didn’t say anything, just kind of glanced at me and shuffled away. I brought Sadie back home, still embarrassed, and decided she couldn’t handle being off leash at the church anymore.
The next day, I brought her instead to the fenced-in area of the apartment complex to play ball. I didn’t want to do that initially because I didn’t want to disturb the other apartment residents, but I figured it’s just for one day until it was the weekend and I could take Sadie out for a long hike or run to get her energy out. Everything was going well, and she played and even greeted a few residents. Until an older woman who lives in the complex came out to get to the back gate. I’ve seen this woman around and we generally nod to each other, but i’ve never really talked to her. Sadie went absolutely nuts. She ran up to the woman barking, snarling, not lunging but definitely not nice. I apologized profusely, leashed her up, and took her upstairs.
I obviously won’t take her out anymore and let her off leash because I can’t be sure who she’s going to react to, and I don’t trust her at a dog park. Does anyone on here have any advice on where to exercise reactive dogs off leash in the city? I would really appreciate it!
Update: (January 27)
I didn’t get many replies to my first post, fair enough, but I wanted to update because something else started happening. 2 nights ago, so the 6th night of dog sitting, Sadie started doing this weird thing at night. She’d pass out on the couch like usual, and follow me to bed when I went. In the middle of the night though, I woke up with kind of a creepy feeling. It was dark of course, and when I opened my eyes and they adjusted, I could see Sadie standing right next to the bed, staring at me. She was completely still, tail up and stiff, just staring. I was a little unsettled, and just looked back for a bit. She’s not big, only about 20 pounds, but she has the blocky pit bull head and looks pretty intimidating. Eventually I reached out my hand, and she sniffed it for a moment before wagging her tail and jumping back on the bed. She fell asleep, and as far as I know that was that.
Last night though, it happened again. I woke up around 3am with that creepy feeling again, and looked around for Sadie. She was standing next to the bed, staring at me and growling softly. I can’t really explain it, but she was completely still. You could see the tension coming off of her. I was sleepy and kind of fed up so I told her to snap out of it and go to bed. I rolled over, a little uneasy but I guess I fell asleep again. When I woke up, she was asleep on the bed next to me and acting totally normal.
Has anyone experienced this before? She seems to like me, but she goes weird at night. Is this a safety issue for me?
Update: (January 28)
Thank you everyone for your replies! I took the advice of a few of you and last night I left the hallway light on as a nightlight, and left out a few chew toys for Sadie in case she was getting restless. I also had a pet cam from my cat who passed away and set it up, as one of you suggested, to see if anything was happening that set her off. Unfortunately, around 3am again, I woke up and looked over at Sadie. It was really unsettling. The hallway light lit her up and I could see her standing completely still. Her eyes were wide and kind of insane looking, and her teeth were bared. She was standing off to the side of the bed, just staring at me. With the light on, this time I could see that she was shaking a little bit. Freaked out, I got up and went to the kitchen to grab some water and just calm down a little, and she stayed in the room like that. After about 30 minutes, she walked over to me in the living room acting normal. I pet her, and we went back to bed, where she curled up and we fell asleep.
I rewatched the footage from the pet cam in the morning and didn’t see too much. There were some shadows from outside moving on the walls, which I assume were cars passing, and that’s when Sadie got out of bed. She disappeared from the camera view for a bit, then when she came back in she was freaking out. Then nothing happened until I woke up and went to the kitchen. While I was in the kitchen, she was still standing there, totally still with her teeth bared (i’m assuming, her face was pointing away from me). The camera did at least show me that when I thought she was staring at me, she was actually staring at the little door. I have a door sort of behind my bed, almost a utility closet thing, that opens to the outside and leads to what used to be a fire escape. But it’s locked and bolted, I don’t even have a key to it, so i’m not sure why it was triggering her. Needless to say, i’m now also creeped out by the door.
Has anyone ever had a dog do this?? I could really use some advice. I don’t know, it’s pretty weird, but i’m kind of over it. I’m freaked out and not getting much sleep, but I guess i’ll just wait out the 3 days until Eleanor comes back. I’m definitely not going to dog sit her again.
Update: (January 29)
Things are not ok. I jolted awake last night because Sadie was going ape shit. Snarling, howling, snapping at the air next to my face just off the bed. I almost punched her in the face just out of adrenaline. I tried to calm her down but she just kept barking and snarling. She probably woke every neighbor up. I was scared and just overwhelmed, so I grabbed her and took her out of the bedroom and shut the door and took her to the living room. She calmed down almost immediately, it was so weird. I looked at the live feed of the camera, looking at the fire escape door. I thought I was going crazy, because nothing was there. About an hour later, I even went into the room and checked the door. It was still locked of course. Sadie and I slept on the couch, and I plan to sleep there again tonight. I know i’m just speaking to the void now, but I’m so ready for this dog sitting to be over with.
Final Update: (February 12)
I really feel like I need to share this with you all. Sadie was a fake name. The name of the dog that might have saved my life is Mitzi. After I dropped her off with her owner, I went back home happy to go back to normal. As it got darker though, I started getting creeped out thinking about her growling, and the fire escape door, and everything. So for peace of mind, I switched on the pet cam, took an edible and got super stoned, and fell asleep. I usually need weed to help me sleep through the night, but I don’t take it when i’m dog sitting in case an emergency happens and I have to drive to the vet or something.
I woke up the next morning feeling better. I checked out the pet cam, fast forwarding until 3am rolled around and I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. It felt like my heart jumped through my throat. The fire escape door opened. While I was fast asleep, it opened and someone squeezed through. I couldn’t see him too well since it was dark, but I recognized the wool hat and beard as the guy that Mitzi growled at in the churchyard almost a week earlier. He just stood over me, staring, and at one point he reached out and touched my hair. I moved a little but didn’t wake up. He stayed until 5:15.
I had a full blown panic attack watching the tape. Hyperventilating, nausea, all of it. My hands were shaking so hard that it was difficult to hold onto my phone while I dialed the police. They came, and I showed them the video. It was the worst moment of my life. They were able to find the man, a homeless guy who volunteered at the church in exchange for a place to sleep. My apartment building used to belong to the church, and he somehow had the keys to everyone’s old fire escape doors. I don’t know how long he had been coming into my room to watch me sleep, but judging by the story the police got out of him, it sounds like it was at least a month or two. In his bunk they found some things that he had taken from my room, including a hair brush, 2 pairs of underwear, and an old journal that I had thought I lost. The underwear was crusted in something that I just don’t want to think about. I feel so completely violated and terrified.
If it weren’t for Mitzi, I wouldn’t have installed that pet cam and i’m not sure how much longer this would have gone on, or how far that man would have taken it. The locks to everyone’s old fire escapes are all being changed, and i’m definitely not getting high before bed anymore, but i’m probably going to move. I just don’t feel safe here anymore, even with the old man gone. Every time I see that older woman in my complex, the other person that Mitzi growled at, I can’t help but wonder what she’s up to. Even with the utility locks changed, who knows who has copies of the keys?
All that said, I visit Mitzi every few days with a treat and I found good spots to play ball in the city. I will happily dog sit her again.
(End of blog updates)