He’s a trooper.
The abandoned Florida dog who was cruelly tied to a fence before Hurricane Milton barreled through the Sunshine State is recovering “safe and sound” in foster care, where he is flashing “smiles” to his saviors.
Florida Highway Patrol posted the heartbreaking video of the drenched pet standing in rising flood water “up to his belly” near I-75 in Tampa on Wednesday.
The Leon County Humane Society stepped in to get the Bull Terrier to a foster home in Tallahassee and named him Trooper due to “how much he’s been through and to honor those who saved him” from the catastrophic storm that killed at least 17 people in eight counties.
“He’s incredibly stressed and still decompressing,” the Leon County Humane Society said on Facebook.
“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.”
A trooper rescued the pooch before the Category 3 hurricane made landfall in Siesta Key and brought wind gusts exceeding 100 mph and extensive flooding. Trooper was found
Water levels rose more than eight feet in Sarasota as Tampa Bay was sparred from the catastrophic storm surge that was predicted.
Police brought Trooper to a local veterinarian, where he was examined and received a clean bill of health.
“It was cruel, and it was thoughtless,” the Leon County Humane Society wrote in a Facebook post. “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.”
“We wanted to let those who have been following this story know that he is safe and sound, because we’ve been worried about him since seeing his story.”
The non-profit organization has seen a surge of people wanting to adopt Trooper but they are not yet accepting any applications or inquiries.
Trooper will remain at the foster home until the non-profit organization is confident that he’s ready to find a forever home.
“We even got a few smiles this afternoon,” the Leon County Humane Society said on Thursday. “In the end, the only thing that matters to us is that he’s safe, the rest can wait. Welcome to Tallahassee Trooper!”
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis reacted to the viral video by telling reporters, “I hope they find the person who did it and that person should have the book thrown at them.”
Rumors surfaced after the rescue that Troper was reunited with the heartless owner, but the facility debunked the online chatter.
The Leon County Humane Society said that the shelter Trooper was initially dropped off at got involved and accidentally listed him as “returned to owner” which was not true.
“It was an error – the same Trooper who brought him in to be looked over was the one who came back to pick him up for his transfer [to us]. Since he was released to the same person who brought him in, he was mistakenly listed as returned to owner, and later updated as transferred to law enforcement. We confirmed that an original owner did not come forward,” the non-profit wrote on Facebook.
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