TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Trooper, the Florida dog abandoned during Hurricane Milton evacuations and rescued by Florida Highway Patrol troopers, is the inspiration behind a Senate Bill making its way through the Florida Legislature.
The Senate Criminal Justice Committee approved SB 150 during a hearing earlier this month. The bill would make abandoning a restrained animal during a natural disaster a third-degree felony.
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FHP troopers found Trooper, a Bull Terrier, in belly-high water, abandoned along Interstate 75, near Pebble Creek, north of Tampa during evacuations for Hurricane Milton last year.
He was adopted by Frank Spina and his family in December 2024.
He came home to a canine sister named Dallas, who is also a Bull Terrier rescue.
His new family said it was love at first sight when Trooper and Dallas met. At one point they said they were worried Trooper’s happily wagging tail would helicopter him out of the yard.
Giovanny Aldama Garcia, 23, of Ruskin, Florida was identified as Trooper’s owner and arrested in October 2023.
Garcia faces aggravated animal cruelty charges and could face up to five years in prison.
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