“I’m not willing to reconsider my decision of keeping her a permanent part of my family,” the sitter allegedly texted the dog’s owners
NEED TO KNOW
- Hanna and Roger Bustos asked a dog sitter to foster their family’s poodle, Lucy, during Hanna’s cancer treatment, expecting to reunite with her later
- The family now says the dog sitter refuses to return Lucy, claiming she is part of her “pack” and a permanent part of her family
- With no agreement to return Lucy, the Bustos family has filed police reports and hired an attorney to get Lucy back
A Florida family is fighting a dog sitter that hasn’t returned their pet.
Hanna Bustos, a mother of five, says that she hired a dog sitter at the start of 2026 to help with the family’s poodle, Lucy, according to WPLG. Lucy was a gift to Hanna’s 14-year-old son, but in November 2025, the family was moving, taking care of Hanna’s mother and Hanna was diagnosed with cancer, so she worked out a deal to have Lucy fostered.
Lucy was transported to the foster in February 2026 at no charge while the family got settled amid Hanna’s treatment, according to NBC 6.
Then in August, Hanna tried to retrieve Lucy, but now she says the dog sitter won’t return her 1-year-old pup. Hanna claimed that the sitter will not return her, in an effort not “to remove Lucy from her pack,” per WPLG.
“And when I reached out to her with this offer, her response to that was that she was not going to give up the dog because she says that she was not willing to have her leave her pack,” Hanna said.
“She is part of our family now,” the sitter said in a text, according to Hanna. “We’re not willing to give her up.”
“I’m not willing to reconsider my decision of keeping her a permanent part of my family,” another text allegedly read, per NBC 6.
Hanna said that there was “no documentation” that would make the dog sitter Lucy’s owner, and that the sitter knew “this was not a permanent situation.”
“I felt like 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,” Hanna tearfully said, per WPLG. “That’s the truth: How was I going to tell my son?”
Hanna explained how “devastating” the situation has been for the family. “We entrusted her with our dog and we were in hopes of getting her back,” she said, per NBC 6.
Hanna and her husband Roger have three daughters and two sons, and told the sitter that Lucy has provided emotional support amid Hanna’s cancer treatment. “My son asking, ‘Oh, when is Lucy coming?’ And then the twins, they start screaming her name,” Roger said, according to WPLG.
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Still, the family says the sitter refused to return the dog.
“I am very sorry you are going through this, but this doesn’t change my decision,” the dog sitter allegedly said. “I am not giving her up.”
The Bustos say they have filed two police reports and hired an attorney to pursue legal action in civil court.
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