Gov. Ron DeSantis said authorities have started criminal proceedings against the owner of the bull terrier found abandoned and tied to a pole on Interstate 75 ahead of Hurricane Milton’s landfall.
The rescued dog, which became a celebrity on social media after his rescue in Tampa during the hurricane, was safe with a new foster family.
Its owner was identified in court records as Giovanny Aldama Garcia, 23, of Ruskin, just south of Tampa, facing a felony charge of aggravated cruelty to animals. He was arrested Monday at his rented home in Ruskin and released on a $2,500 bond from the Hillsborough County Jail. Court records said Aldama Garcia showed up at the county animal shelter in Tampa to try to retrieve his dog one day after it was found abandoned along the interstate.
“We said you’d be held accountable, and you will be held accountable,” DeSantis said.
Investigators said Aldama Garcia had owned the dog, which he called Jumbo, since it was a puppy and had been trying unsuccessfully to get rid of the dog for weeks. “He could not deal with the dog,” the arrest report said.
State Attorney Suzy Lopez said the trooper had touched the hearts of people across Hillsborough County, and she aimed to protect the county’s most vulnerable citizens, including what she called “fourlegged friends.” “The fact that somebody could tie a dog to a pole on the interstate as we were facing a Category 5 hurricane is absolutely impossible for me, as a dog owner and dog-lover [to] imagine,” Lopez said.
Court records said Aldama Garcia’s mother had stopped their car Oct. 9 on I-75 during their family’s evacuation to Georgia from heavy rain ahead of the raging hurricane, letting the dog out of the vehicle. Aldama Garcia said he last saw the dog in standing water and left it behind.
Meanwhile, the dog— renamed Trooper in honor of the Florida Highway Patrol officer who rescued him—was safely living with a foster family in the Tallahassee area, according to the county’s Humane Society office. It provided a photograph of what appeared to be a happy, panting dog with a rubber toy between its paws.
Trooper’s new foster family, who wasn’t identified, will have the first opportunity to adopt him if it is a good fit, the Humane Society said.
Investigators said Aldama Garcia saw photos of the abandoned dog on social media and initially wanted it back, then changed his mind after learning the dog was with a foster family in Leon County.
“After finding out the dog was being fostered, he surrendered the dog due to someone else giving the dog a better life,” the arrest report said.
The highway patrol said Aldama Garcia’s actions put the dog’s safety unnecessarily at risk. It described him as showing no emotion after learning the dog was still alive.
“Due to the circumstances, and the extreme danger and risk of death caused by the defendant to the dog, the defendant’s actions caused excessive unnecessary infliction of pain and suffering to the dog,” court records said. “In addition, the defendant stated he never notified anyone that the dog was left behind on (the) interstate during a hurricane evacuation. The defendant continued driving to Georgia to a safe place.”
The highway patrol found the dog tied to a pole in standing water. The agency posted a video on social media showing the black-and-white dog tied in an area where flooding had water almost covering its legs.
“Do NOT do this to your pets please,” the patrol said.
The highway patrol arranged for the dog to be examined by a veterinarian, then transported it to Leon County, where the Humane Society said in his first few days there he was “incredibly stressed and still decompressing.”
This story was produced by Fresh Take Florida, a news service of the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications. The reporter can be reached at sandovalv@freshtakeflorida.com.
