Owner of dog abandoned amid Hurricane Milton faces animal cruelty charge

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Tuesday the owner of "Trooper," the dog abandoned during Hurricane Milton, has been identified and will face an animal cruelty charge.

Giovanny Aldama Garcia, 23, will face one count of aggravated cruelty to animals for allegedly tying his dog to a pole in the Tampa area before the hurricane struck. He has paid a $2,500 bond.

"You don't just tie up a dog and have them out there for a storm," DeSantis said on Tuesday. "Totally unacceptable, and we're gonna hold you accountable."

Garcia told police he abandoned his dog "Jumbo” while fleeing to Georgia because he “couldn’t find anyone to pick the dog up," according to the State Attorney’s Office.

Garcia could face up to five years in prison for the third-degree felony.

Trooper was rescued hours before Hurricane Milton and is safe and dry in Tallahassee, the Leon County Humane Society says.

He also was given a name to honor both his survival and those who saved him: Trooper.

A Florida Highway Patrol officer found the dog tied to a fence off Interstate 75 in the Tampa area on Wednesday amid mandatory evacuations as the region prepared for potential destruction from Hurricane Milton.

"We can't imagine the situation that ended with him tied to this pole and left him without any hope. It's hard even to think about how scared he must have been as cars raced by, the water rose to his belly, and the storm clouds darkened," the Humane Society said in a post on Facebook.

Bodycam footage showed the trooper approaching the dog in the rain, its legs submerged in water. The dog growled and barked as the trooper neared.

"It's OK, buddy," the trooper said, trying to calm him. "It's OK. I don't blame you. I don't blame you. It's OK, buddy. It's OK."  

The pup was later picked up by the Humane Society's dog coordinator, who got a call from the Governor's office and left her home to go pick him up from Emergency Management Services.

"The dog was brought into Hillsborough Pet Resource Center, but he was not chipped and was not reunited [with any potential owner]," the Humane Society added. "We did not speak with the shelter, but with the transport system that arranged a safe spot for him, contacted us, and drove him to Tallahassee. He's been in foster care ever since."

Thank you, @FHPTampa.

It is cruel for anyone to leave a dog tied to a post in the middle of an oncoming storm. FL will hold anyone who mistreats pets accountable. https://t.co/19axr8CLf0

— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) October 9, 2024

Trooper will probably be in foster care for a while before the Humane Society considers adoption.

"He's incredibly stressed and still decompressing. Abandoning a dog like this doesn't typically allow for an immediate bounce back to their happy selves. Most dogs when rescued take a few days to feel safe, a few weeks to come out of their shell, and a few months to become comfortable and fall into a routine. We have absolutely no idea what his life looked like before he was abandoned. We want to be sure that we know exactly what he needs before even considering adoption, so he'll be in foster care until we feel confident he's ready for the next phase of life, and that his future will be kind to him," the organization said.

The state attorney's office had no attorney information for Garcia on Tuesday, a spokesperson said. Attempts to reach Garcia through a phone number listed as his were unsuccessful, NBC News reported, and an email to an address listed as his requesting comment was not immediately returned Tuesday night. Calls to numbers listed as his parents' went unreturned.