TAMPA – The man who was accused of abandoning his dog during Hurricane Milton in 2024 has been cleared.
The State Attorney’s Office, 13th Judicial Circuit announced it has dropped the charge against the dog’s former owner.
Giovanny Garcia was originally charged with aggravated animal cruelty, but he’s been cleared of criminal responsibility. The state attorney’s office said the evidence doesn’t support the allegations.
The backstory:
The Tampa Bay area was bracing for a second hurricane impact as Milton churned towards the Gulf Coast with increasing intensity in October 2024.Â
Evacuation orders were already given and drivers were recommended to stay off of the roads as people were encouraged to shelter indoors for the oncoming storm.
The Florida Highway Patrol says a trooper found a bull terrier standing in water alone along I-75.
The trooper rescued the dog, who was renamed “Trooper” and later adopted.
At the time, the dog’s former owner was charged.
Dig deeper:
This week, the state attorney’s office dropped the charge against the former owner and shared a memo, saying it wasn’t able to meet its burden of proof in this case.
According to the memo, a person on the highway had spotted “Trooper” and called 911. The state attorney’s office says the body camera footage and statements in evidence don’t support the theory that the dog was attached to the fence intentionally.
“During the deposition and discovery process in this case, we determined that we did not have sufficient evidence to prove that the defendant intentionally tied the dog to the fence in rising floodwaters,” the state attorney’s office said. “While this case stirs many emotions and even ethical questions, we do not have a good-faith basis to continue this prosecution. While it was initially reported that the dog was tied to the fence with a rope, we have insufficient evidence to support that allegation. As a result, we cannot meet our burden of proving aggravated animal cruelty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Despite this outcome regarding the prosecution, Trooper the dog and his story has led to real, positive change. Trooper has a loving new home, and “Trooper’s Law” now makes it a felony to abandon a restrained animal during a natural disaster. We will always stand up for our community’s most vulnerable victims, including children, the elderly, and animals.”
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Prosecutors say the dog’s former owner and his mother were the only witnesses to the events leading up to the dog being left alone.
“In this case, it’s very possible that what the defendant said, happened,” Anthony Rickman, an attorney who’s not affiliated with the case said. “The dog got loose and his collar got stuck on the fence, and when the trooper came upon that dog, they found the dog on the fence.”
They both reportedly told investigators that the dog became stressed and aggressive while they were evacuating the hurricane, and when the car stopped, he jumped out and took off.
“When you look at the evidence, and you look at the video, it appears that his collar was actually stuck to the fence,” Rickman said. “And on the video, you don’t see any ropes, you don’t see any chains, you don’t see anything that would establish that the person intentionally put the dog on the fence.”
Rickman says there wasn’t enough evidence in this case for the state attorney’s office to prosecute.
“They are very hard on animal cruelty cases,” he said. “They are very hard on crime, especially cases like this.”
The state attorney’s office says that the failure to locate the dog during an emergency evacuation doesn’t equate to a criminal failure to act.
“It’s not being a bad owner,” Rickman said. “It’s not doing something negligent. Yes, it was probably negligent for this individual to allow the dog to run away and not call somebody or not try to find him. But it wasn’t criminal, because to prove the criminal charge, they had to prove that he committed an act with the intent.”
Big picture view:
The case originally sparked uproar from the public.
It sparked an effort to pass “Trooper’s Law”, which now makes it a felony to abandon a restrained animal during a natural disaster.
The Source: FOX 13’s Kylie Jones gathered the information for this story.