Man accused of abandoning dog in floodwaters before Milton

A man was arrested on animal cruelty charges after authorities said he abandoned his dog in floodwaters near a highway as residents evacuated Florida’s Gulf Coast last week, shortly before before Hurricane Milton makes landfall.

The 23-year-old Ruskin, Florida, man was arrested Monday on charges of aggravated animal cruelty.

No records have yet been posted online, so it was unclear whether he had an attorney.

The dog, nicknamed Trooper by the Florida Highway Patrol, was found alive last Wednesday in chest-deep floodwaters along Interstate 75 in the Tampa area as residents evacuated Florida’s Gulf Coast hours before the Category 3 hurricane made landfall.

The police took him to a veterinarian, where he was examined for injuries and given a clean bill of health.

“We take this crime very seriously and this defendant will have to face the consequences of his actions,” said prosecutor Suzy Lopez, whose jurisdiction covers the Tampa area.

A police officer who located the dog based on the description of a witness passing by described it as “in severe distress and shaking,” according to a redacted criminal report.

“Traffic was heavy as many people were evacuating,” the trooper wrote in the arrest report. “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 and unnecessary pain and suffering to the dog.”

Investigators were able to track down the owner after he went to a Tampa-area animal shelter looking for his dog, which had been transferred to a shelter in Tallahassee and then placed with a foster family. The owner agreed to release the dog to the foster family on the condition that “they take good care of and love the dog,” the arrest report states.

During an interview with the officer, the homeowner waived his right to remain silent and made a statement that was redacted in the report.

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