Texas couple faces lawsuit after giving pet sitting company negative Yelp review

A Texas couple is being sued for posting a negative Yelp review of a pet sitting company that allegedly didn’t take proper care of their dogs and fish.

Robert and Michelle Duchouquette, of Plano, used Yelp last October to find the company Prestigious Pets in Dallas, according to KTVT-TV. Michelle Duchouquette said she chose the company because of the positive reviews. However, she didn’t like some of the business’s policies for handling pets but decided to sign a contract with them because she had a trip coming up shortly.

The Dallas Morning News reported the Duchouquettes checked into their fish tank’s live video feed and saw the tank looked dirty. Michelle Duchouquette said the billing also got messed up so she decided to post a negative review on Yelp.

“My usual pet sitter/walking company, Great Paws was closed to I decided to try Prestigious Pets based on all of the good reviews. We have 2 dogs and a fish that were being cared for while we were gone a Friday through Tuesday evening,” the review read.

“I knew in the initial meeting that I did not think the company was a good fit. The walker would not shre her phone number and said any communications had to be emailed through the company. Since their hours are M-F 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. or Sat. 11 p.m. to 3 p.m. and closed Sunday, this leaves a lot of time where you cannot contact your walker if needed. We would have liked to contact her when we saw the alarm was not set and also when we saw the fish bowl ad gone from clear to cloudy.

“I also did not like their fee and the services you receive. In the initial meeting, our walker told us it was $20 to come to the house, but that did not include a walk. She told us that was $5 extra. Granted they invoiced and charged us $10 and it took multiple emails to get that credited back on my card. The request was made on 10/6 and I did not receive the credit until 10/14. Their initial quote said the visit included 10-15 minutes of a walk to backyard time so I was confused that our walker was telling us something different.”

In response to the negative review, the pet sitting company filed a lawsuit against the couple, according to KTVT-TV. Prestigious Pets is seeking more than $6,700 in damages, alleging the Duchouquettes violated a non-disparagement clause in the contract they signed.

The owner of the company also maintains that much of Michelle Duchouquette’s concerns were addressed in the meet-and-greet interview.

“We are honest people seeking protection from dishonest individuals, not other honest ones. Fair and honest feedback is not the issue here,” the company said in an emailed statement to KTVT-TV.