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After promising to throw the book at the person responsible for chaining a dog on the side of the road during Hurricane Milton, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis gave an update on law and order.

“We said you’d be held accountable, and you will be held accountable.”

With his record preceding him, the conservative statesmen made the point during his management of a second consecutive storm making landfall within two weeks’ time to assert zero tolerance for animal cruelty.

Less than a week after a bull terrier was located abandoned beside I-75 with flood waters rising up to his chest, DeSantis announced during a press conference Tuesday that the man allegedly responsible, 23-year-old Giovanny Aldama Garcia, had been found, arrested and Hillsborough County was “pursuing animal cruelty charges against this individual.”

“When this poor dog was left out there, we said… we’re going to nail you when we find out who did it. And that’s exactly what they’re doing here in Hillsborough County with State Attorney Lopez,” the governor said during the press conference. “You don’t just tie up a dog and have them out there for a storm. Totally unacceptable, and we’re going to hold you accountable.”

According to Lopez, the 23-year-old claimed he abandoned the dog, who’d been named Jumbo by the owner because he “couldn’t find anyone to pick the dog up” while he fled the Tampa Bay area en route to Georgia.

“In Hillsborough County, we take animal cruelty very seriously. This defendant is charged with a felony and could face up to five years in prison for his actions,” the state attorney explained. “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.”

On Oct. 9, as Milton was nearing the Gulf Coast, Florida Highway Patrol Trooper Orlando Morales was flagged down by a driver prompting him to search for the dog that he located trembling in the water. Despite growling and barking, Morales was able to rescue the animal and bring him to a veterinarian who gave him a clean bill of health.

The viral story of the rescue resulted in it taking little time for the Leon County Humane Society to help secure a foster home in Tallahassee for Jumbo which renamed the dog Trooper because of “how much he’s been through and to honor those who saved him,” the New York Post reported.

According to Lopez, the owner had been trying to get rid of the dog for months and saw the storm as his opportunity to have his way. While it remained to be seen what would become of Garcia, who was released from jail Tuesday on a $2,500 bond, the apprehension and swift progress toward justice came with cheers for law and order in Florida.

Kevin Haggerty
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