Miami

Man's Pet Bearded Dragon Accidentally Sold by North Miami Pet Store, Won't Be Returned

A simple trip to the pet store in North Miami ended with a messy transaction for one owner of a bearded dragon lizard. He claims they sold his pet reptile by mistake.

For Brandon Cabrera, his beloved bearded dragon, Kenny, is more than just a pet.

"He sleeps with me." said Cabrera. "I'll put him on the pillow next to me sometimes and then really I mean, it's like part of the family."

But now he's without his scaly friend. Cabrera boarded up Kenny at a pet store when he was on vacation. But when he returned, he was faced with some lizard drama.

"The guy says listen man, we have bad news: one of the girls here, she's new, she just sold your bearded dragon to some guy," said Cabrera.

The mixed up transaction went down at Moc Reptiles in North Miami. The store owner did not want to speak to us on camera but he confirmed the mistake. The owner has terminated the employee who sold Kenny for $70 and tells us he is doing everything to track down the man who purchased the reptile. They even found him on Facebook.

"He was posting pictures with my bearded dragon," said Cabrera. "I messaged him and I even offered double the cash. I clicked on his profile and I was blocked, so that's kind of where we are right now this guy has blocked me."

So far Cabrera hasn't had any luck. He says the purchaser called the store and said he would bring Kenny back last Sunday, but the day came and went. He also tried calling the purchaser but the number was disconnected.

Cabrera has had Kenny for about than seven months and even built him a cage from scratch.

"If you would have told me a year ago that I'd be doing this for a lizard, I would have said you were crazy but he is part of the family now." said Cabrera. "It's literally like another pet; like anyone else's pet."

The store owner did offer to give Cabrera another lizard or even compensate him.

Cabrera says it's not the same: "At the end of the day he said that he's replace the lizard but that's like someone losing their dog and someone bringing a replacement dog. it's just not the same."

At this point Cabrera's hoping the man who mistakenly purchased Kenny will hear his plea so he can be reunited with his cold-blooded pet.

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