A Florida man was arrested and charged with animal cruelty after he left his dog tied to a fence before Hurricane Milton made landfall in the state last week.
The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles announced the charges on Tuesday.
The agency said the dog, now known as “Trooper,” was abandoned along Interstate 75 in Tampa while residents were evacuated ahead of the hurricane. By the time the Trooper was discovered by a Highway Patrol agent who received a tip, the dog was trapped “in floodwater up to his chest.”
Florida Highway Patrol troopers shared body camera video of the dog to X on October 9. In the footage, the troper’s white head is seen emerging from behind a grassy hill near the highway.
As he approached, the officer could be heard reassuring the dog, which barked and growled from its perch in the deep pool.
An affidavit for the incident said that tying the dog to the fence exposed him to “extreme danger and risk of death” and “caused the dog excessive and unnecessary pain and suffering.”
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State troopers began an investigation to determine who left the dog on the side of the road.
Giovanni Aldama Garcia, 23, of Ruskin, Florida, was arrested and charged with felony animal cruelty on Monday. He told police he abandoned his dog, originally named Jumbo, while traveling to Georgia because he couldn’t find housing for his pet.
Garcia could face up to five years in prison if convicted. He did not comment publicly on the incident or his arrest.
According to jail records, Garcia was released Tuesday on $2,500 U.S. cash bail (about $3,400 Canadian).
The affidavit alleges that Garcia traveled to the Hillsborough County Animal Shelter two days after Hurricane Milton made landfall. He reportedly showed the shelter employee some photos as proof that he owned the troper.
The soldier was not in the shelter; he was staying in the shelter Leon County Animal Shelter. When a Leon County shelter employee contacted Garcia, he allegedly said he would “relinquish ownership” of the dog if Trooper was instead paired with a loving foster family.
In a statement on Facebook, the Leon County Animal Shelter said Trooper was sent to a “wonderful family with experience raising animals.”
“In this home, he will continue to decompress and enjoy all the good things in life,” the organization wrote. “His adoptive parents will learn more about him and keep his best interests in mind.”
The investigation is ongoing.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Tuesday A soldier has been certified By a family in Tallahassee.
“We said at the time, ‘Don’t just tie up a dog and leave him out there to storm, which is absolutely unacceptable, and we will hold you accountable,’” DeSantis said during a news conference. “We said, ‘You will be held accountable and you will be held accountable.’”
Hurricane Milton made landfall in Florida as a Category 3 storm on October 9, leaving a trail of devastation across a wide swath of the peninsula. The hurricane tore through coastal communities, tearing homes apart, flooding streets and unleashing a hail of deadly tornadoes.
at least 24 people died Result of the storm.
FEMA Administrator Deane Criswell said last week that Milton was not as devastating as officials feared, but it still caused “Huge damage Hurricanes hit a level Florida residents have never seen.
— With files from The Associated Press
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