A Miami mother facing chemotherapy for cancer claims a temporary dog sitter has refused to return her family's poodle, Lucie, for the past seven months. Hanna Bustos, a mother of five, left the one-year-old puppy with a boarder she trusted.
Bustos told Local 10 News that the sitter declined to return Lucie even after learning about Bustos's cancer diagnosis, stating, "I'm very sorry you're going through that, but it doesn't change my decision." Bustos insists the sitter's action was a permanent decision, not a temporary foster arrangement.
The poodle was a gift for Bustos's 14-year-old son, who considered Lucie his best friend. "I felt instant betrayal because I know that my son trusted me to trust her, and I made a judgment call that was not helpful for my family, and I could only think about him," Bustos said. "That's the truth: How was I going to tell my son?"
The family has filed two police reports and hired an attorney in an effort to recover Lucie. Bustos shared on Instagram that she was at a police station on Monday with her family after sending the sitter a demand letter for the dog's unconditional return by 5 p.m. that day. Lucie had not been returned as of that evening.
Bustos stated that the dog is microchipped and has rabies vaccinations registered in her name, emphasizing that Lucie was given to the sitter for fostering and not for rehoming or abandonment. "I AM HER ONLY OWNER," Bustos wrote.
When Local 10 News approached the unidentified sitter at her home in South Miami, she declined to comment, though dogs could be heard barking inside the residence.