Tipsheet
Premium

DeSantis Announces Update to Viral Video of Highway Patrol Rescuing Dog Abandoned as Milton Approached

As Hurricane Milton made its way toward the Sunshine State last week, prompting widespread evacuations, one man fleeing the storm decided to tie his dog to a fence along a Florida highway because he claims he couldn’t find anyone to pick the animal up. After receiving a tip about the distressed canine, a trooper with the state’s Highway Patrol, Orlando Morales, searched and searched until he found it. Morales took a video of his rescue of the frightened dog, water already up to his belly, which quickly went viral.

Now, Gov. Ron DeSantis has announced justice will be served.

"We said you'd be held accountable, and you will be held accountable," he said during a press conference. 

State Attorney Suzy Lopez charged the owner, Giovanny Aldama Garcia, with aggravated animal cruelty. 

“In Hillsborough County, we take animal cruelty very seriously,” Lopez said in a statement. “This defendant is charged with a felony and could face up to five years in prison for his actions. Quite frankly, I don’t think that is enough. Hopefully, lawmakers take a look at this case and discuss changing the law to allow for harsher penalties for people who abandon their animals during a state of emergency.”

The dog, which has been renamed "Trooper," is in the care of the Leon County Humane Society, which said the canine needs time in foster care to decompress before they can "match him with the best fit possible so that he has the best transition into his forever home."