A 23-year-old man in Florida has been charged with animal cruelty after leaving his dog tied to a fence during an evacuation for Hurricane Milton, according to a press release from the state prosecutor. The dog went viral after footage showed the dog along Interstate 75 near Tampa standing in water up to its belly, appearing visibly distressed, before being rescued by a Florida Highway Patrol trooper.
Giovanni Aldeama Garcia from Ruskin, Florida, was arrested and charged with animal cruelty, a third-degree felony, according to State Attorney Suzy Lopez, who announced it at a press conference with Governor DeSantis on Tuesday. Garcia allegedly admitted to leaving his pet on the side of the road “because he couldn’t find anyone to take the dog.” It is unclear why the dog was tied to a fence in stagnant water.
According to reports, someone saw the dog in distress during the evacuation and alerted Florida Highway Patrol trooper Orlando Morales. The dog’s name was originally Jumbo but was changed to Trooper, according to social media accounts affiliated with the Florida Highway Patrol.
Trooper is currently being cared for by the Leon County Humane Society and is with a foster family, according to the organization’s Facebook page, which states, “There are thousands of dogs that deserve the same level of care and attention and advocacy, and we hope Trooper’s situation inspires a better future for all dogs.”
Lopez said in a statement, “In Hillsborough County, we take animal cruelty seriously.” “This defendant is charged with a felony and could face up to five years in prison for his actions. Frankly, I don’t think that’s enough.”
Lopez believes that the prison term for such violations should be longer than five years, although less than five years is typical for most states when it comes to animal cruelty penalties.
Lopez added: “We hope legislators look at this issue and discuss changing the law to allow for harsher penalties for people who abandon their animals during emergencies.”
Hurricane Milton, which made landfall on October 10 as a Category 3 storm after weakening from a Category 5 in the Gulf of Mexico, has resulted in at least 28 fatalities, with six people still missing as of Wednesday. Nearly four million people in Florida lost power during the storm, but about 97% of the state is back up and running, according to the Herald Tribune. This leaves approximately 369,000 homes in central Florida still without power.
Hurricane Milton was actually the second major hurricane to hit Florida in a short period of time, coming directly on the heels of Hurricane Helen, a Category 4 storm that took a different path heading north towards states like North Carolina where it caused significant damage to the western part of that state. At least 92 people are still missing due to Hurricane Helen according to North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper. Helen killed 243 people, with 118 fatalities in North Carolina alone.
