Florida’s Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis announced this week that the former owner of a dog that the Highway Patrol saved as Hurricane Milton hit land has been caught and will be charged with cruelty to animals.
“We had somebody decide, as Hurricane Milton approached, that it would somehow be a good thing to take his dog and chain it to a post on the interstate,” DeSantis said during a press conference at the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.
Orlando Morales, an officer with the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP), filmed the dog standing in a pool of water because it couldn’t get away from the fence as Milton made his way to land.
DeSantis said the dog’s new name was “Trooper” and that he was now in Tallahassee, where he will be adopted. The governor said that what the past owners did was “completely unacceptable.”
He said that the dog’s former owner had been found and that State Attorney Suzy Lopez would be in charge of the case.
According to a news statement from Lopez’s office, the dog’s owner is Giovanny Garcia. Garcia was charged with aggravated animal cruelty after admitting that he left his dog on Interstate 75 while he was leaving Milton. Garcia told the police that he left his dog, which used to be called Jumbo, because he couldn’t find anyone to take it.
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“We said you’d be held accountable, and you will be held accountable,” DeSantis said.
The story about Trooper made national headlines, leaving pet fans and people who fight for animal rights worried.
After the FHP saved the dog, the Leon County Human Society later reported that the dog was safe at their facility.
Last week, DeSantis lashed out at Vice President Kamala Harris this week after she criticized his handling of hurricanes Helene and Milton while also claiming he refused to take her phone call.
On Thursday, DeSantis spoke to CNBC’s Andrew Ross Sorkin about the situation, during which he ripped Harris for what he perceived as a blatant attempt to politicize the storms and boost her campaign.
“I didn’t even know she was trying to reach me, but she has no role in this process, and I’ve been dealing with these storms in Florida under both Trump and Biden. Neither of them ever politicized it,” he said. “And, in fact, all the storms I’ve dealt with under this administration – although I’ve worked well with [President Biden] – she has never called in Florida. She has never offered any support.”
“So, what she’s doing is she’s trying to inject herself into this because of her political campaign,” he continued, noting he’s busy trying to save lives. “I don’t have time for those games.”
“I’m in contact with the president of the United States. I’m in contact with the FEMA director, I’m obviously managing all of our state agencies, we’re supporting all our local government,” DeSantis earlier told a news conference.
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“She’s the first one who’s trying to politicize the storm, and she’s doing that just because of her campaign. I don’t have time for political games. I’ve got people whose lives are on the line, I’ve got people whose homes and possessions are on the line, and we are focused 100% on that mission,” he added.
Biden threw his vice president under a bus — figuratively speaking — during a press conference on Thursday as Hurricane Milton bore down on Florida, the second major storm in as many weeks after Harris was critical of DeSantis. Biden praised the Republican leader and said he was doing a “great job” preparing for Milton.
“The governor of Florida has been cooperative. He said he’s gotten all that he needs. I talked to him again yesterday and I said, ‘No, you’re doing a great job. It’s being, all being done well. We thank you for it,’” said Biden.
