No pets left behind: How a dog’s hurricane rescue changed Florida law
- The San Juan Daily Star
- 5 hours ago
- 5 min read
By Lisa Friedman and Maxine Joselow
Hurricane Milton was barreling toward Florida last October when the emergency call came in about a dog that was stuck in rising waters.
Florida Highway Patrol troopers like Orlando Morales were looking out for crashes as residents scrambled to evacuate from the hurricane, a rapidly intensifying Category 5 storm.
When Morales responded, he was skeptical that it could be true. But then, in the distance off Interstate 75 near Tampa, he spotted the dog’s head sticking out from the flooding terrain. Along a grassy field, he pulled his cruiser over and approached the trembling bull terrier as rain poured down.
“It’s OK buddy, it’s OK,” Morales said in a gentle tone to the growling dog, according to police video.
“I don’t blame you. It’s OK,” he continued, before he brought the dog to the safety of his cruiser.
Nearly a year later, the dog, a bull terrier who was named Trooper after his savior, has been thriving in his new home in suburban Parkland, Florida, with Frank and Carla Spina and his adoptive sister, Dallas, who is of the same breed. On weekends, Trooper and Dallas enjoy chowing down on scrambled eggs.
Trooper’s story has inspired a new Florida law that makes restraining and abandoning pets during a natural disaster a felony.
The terrier with dark brown ears, whose breed may be best known for Bullseye, the mascot in Target ads, has also been recognized by city officials in Parkland as the “top dog” there, and residents instantly recognize him when he’s out and about.
“He is great, absolutely fantastic,” Frank Spina said in a recent interview from his home, as Trooper lazily lounged next to him on a beige sofa — his favorite spot — while nudging him with his nose to be petted.
‘I was in disbelief.’
At first, Morales thought the call about a tethered dog on the side of the road was bogus, but he decided to investigate anyway.
“I had seen the head pop up from a distance from the interstate,” he recalled in an interview.
“I was in disbelief,” he added. “There is legitimately a dog right here,” he recalled thinking.
Morales said Trooper “seemed scared, nervous and angry at the same time.” He was in standing water, and his collar appeared to have gotten caught in a fence, Morales said.
“It was heartwarming” to get to save him, Morales said, “but it was also upsetting to see a dog in that type of condition in that environment, especially as a Category 5 was approaching.”
Morales has his own rescue dog at home, so he knew what to do.
“I tried to get on his level, calm him down and just take as much time as needed,” Morales said.
The trooper used a makeshift leash and eventually led the dog back to his cruiser, where there was a blanket waiting for him.
“He willingly went ahead and walked in,” he said.
Morales took the dog to the Hillsborough County animal shelter to be checked out. He later drove him to the Leon County Humane Society in Tallahassee, where Trooper was placed in foster care and put up for adoption.
His previous owner was charged with animal cruelty.
The Florida Highway Patrol shared the dog’s story on its social media accounts, urging residents, “Do NOT do this to your pets please.” Within days, on Oct. 15, his owner was charged aggravated animal cruelty.
Giovanny Aldama Garcia, 24, of Ruskin, Florida, admitted to abandoning the dog, according to Suzy Lopez, the state attorney for Florida’s 13th Judicial Circuit.
Garcia told investigators that he was driving to Georgia to escape the hurricane, but left his dog, whom he called Jumbo, on the side of the road “because he couldn’t find anyone to pick the dog up,” Lopez said.
A lawyer for Garcia, J. Tony Lopez Mora, said his client “denies that there was any case of animal cruelty and the case is set for trial later this year.”
If convicted, Garcia faces up to five years in prison. He was released from jail on a $2,500 bond, and his next court hearing is Sept. 17.
Now, Trooper is thriving in Parkland.
Frank and Carla Spina, a trial lawyer and hospital executive, knew they were smitten when they came across Trooper’s rescue story.
The couple had been raising bull terriers since 1992, and they thought Trooper bore a striking resemblance to Diesel, their 16-year-old bull terrier, who died in 2024.
“We need to get him,” Frank Spina recalled telling his wife. “Diesel is sending us to get him.”
They inquired about the dog, and in November the Spinas welcomed Trooper to their family, where he would live alongside Dallas, who is 8. She was rescued in Texas in 2019.
When Trooper arrived, he was in rough shape, the couple said, with his legs stained brown from living in dirt. He also appeared thinner than he should have been, Frank Spina, 62, recalled in an interview.
‘Trooper’s Law’ penalizes the abandonment of dogs in natural disasters.
In May of this year, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed Florida Senate Bill 150, which makes it a third-degree felony to restrain and abandon a dog outdoors “during a declared natural disaster or at any time” when a mandatory or voluntary evacuation order is in effect.
Animal rights supporters hailed the bill, which was paired with another animal protection measure that increases penalties for animal cruelty.
‘Parkland’s top dog’ eats scrambled eggs and vacations at Universal.
These days, Trooper enjoys a life of leisure, often lounging on a beige sofa in a cool home office where he watches TV.
“This is his couch,” Frank Spina said as the dog splayed out at his side while looking up at him. “This is where he loves to be.”
Trooper has two beds in crates at the residence.
“He needs safe spaces,” Frank Spina said.
Daily meals include kibble and sweet potato. Weekends call for scrambled eggs.
“He only drinks filtered water,” Frank Spina said of Trooper, who went on his first vacation to Universal Orlando Resort in April. “He is doing great, and he’s got his sister.”
In Parkland, Trooper is a celebrity.
City officials there formally recognized him in February, presenting him and his owners with a bandanna and wristbands that read “We love Trooper” and “Parkland’s Top Dog.”