German Supermodel Says Family Stole Dog For Money, Won't Pay Posted Reward After Return
PALMDALE (CBSLA.com) — The return of a lost dog has sparked controversy after the animal's owner, a German supermodel, refused to pay the reward money she posted.
Hana Nitsche lost her chihuahua Ivy in early September. She and music producer Russell Simmons took to social media to reach out for help in finding Ivy, offering a $5,000 reward.
The Carranza family, meanwhile, says Ivy was found wandering around Beverly Hills by their father, a landscaper in Beverly Hills, who brought her back to the family's home in Palmdale to take care of her.
Days later, when they found a flyer in Beverly Hills with Ivy's picture, which read "Lost Dog! Large Reward", they called the owner.
"I was telling her, basically, that her dog was here, that we had her, that she was safe, we were feeding her, you know, everything that was going on, that everything was good," Janet Carranza said. "And she said, 'Thank you, God bless you, thank you for saving my dog.'"
After an exchange of emails, the family offered to bring Ivy to Los Angeles, but to their surprise, Nitsche showed up at their home in Palmdale — and she wasn't alone.
The Bodyguard Group of Beverly Hills volunteered to help get the dog back, claiming the animal, which had tags with phone numbers on them, had mysteriously disappeared. The unit also suggests the dog was held illegally for three days with no effort to report it.
"She's saying we stole her dog," Carranza said. "I don't know how, but we were just trying to be good people."
