A cancer patient and mother of five from Miami has claimed that her dog-sitter betrayed her and refused to return her 14-year-old son’s puppy. Hanna Bustos, who is currently preparing for chemotherapy, said she and her children haven’t seen their one-year-old puppy Lucy in seven months.
Speaking to Local 10, Bustos, who lives in Miami, said she hired a highly recommended, temporary dog sitter who could board their poodle while they were out of town for various sporting events. However, when it came time to get Lucy back, the dog sitter allegedly refused, telling Bustos they were not willing to remove Lucy from her pack.
“She was not willing to remove ‘Lucy’ from her pack … I felt like instant betrayal because I know that my son trusted me to trust her,” Bustos said, adding her main concern was how she would break the news to her son. Lucy had originally been a gift for her 14-year-old son who told the local outlet that the poodle was his “best friend.” The dog sitter did not elaborate on their reason for supposedly overstepping the owner’s authority and keeping the pet.
The sitter ignored the family’s pleas
The mother tried to explain the pain that her family was going through, but still the sitter refused to budge. Bustos also said she told the sitter about her cancer diagnosis, claiming her children need support; they allegedly responded, telling the mother: “I am very sorry you are going through this, but this doesn’t change my decision.”
Online people expressed their outrage over the situation: “You can’t just take someone’s dog,” wrote one individual on X. Another shared a rather morbid theory, suggesting that the dog might have died and “The sitter may be trying to cover her misdeeds.” Plenty pointed out the illegality of the sitter’s actions, as dogs are considered personal property in Florida.
Others had questions about Bustos and her family, wondering if there was more to the story than meets the eye. “They went out of town and couldn’t take their dog with them. Why[?] How long were they out of town for[?]” asked one person. Meanwhile, another wanted to know if the family had loaned the dog for breeding or just pet sitting.
Regardless, Bustos has stressed how important it is for the family to get Lucy back, admitting they feel powerless against the dog sitter. The mother and her husband, Roger Bustos, filed two police reports with the Miami Police Department and have even hired an attorney to help in civil court.
Roger says his children continue to ask about the poodle: “My son [is] asking, ‘Oh, when is Lucy coming?’ And then the twins, they start screaming her name,” he told KTLA. The dog sitter has yet to publicly comment on the situation.
Published: Sep 7, 2026 01:43 pm