GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Trooper's Law, a new animal cruelty law in Florida that makes it a crime to abandon pets or leave them tied up outside during natural disasters, goes into effect Wednesday.
The case of a bull terrier, now named Trooper, led to the law, after it was left tethered to a fence along Interstate 75 during the evacuation ahead of Hurricane Milton in 2024. Trooper was rescued surrounded by rising water by a Florida Highway Patrol trooper, from whom the dog got its new name.
The new law makes such crimes a felony punishable up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine. Although Florida had existing laws against animal cruelty, it wasn't specifically illegal to abandon a pet outside or leave them tied up during a hurricane or another natural disaster.
Trooper is not the only four-legged friend to suffer from situations like that, said Adam Stern, a professor of forensic pathology at the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine.
"It was a really needed law because it elevates the penalties for doing this," he said.
Stern coordinates an animal cruelty task force that operates throughout north, northwest and central Florida. The task force is a mix of law enforcement agencies and county veterinarians who investigate animal cruelty cases.
He said cases usually aren't as extreme as Trooper's, but the new law was necessary because of the frequency of hurricanes, tornadoes and other natural disasters in Florida. If a pet is left out in a storm, they can fall victim to rising waters or flying objects.
"I've worked cases where the animal is tethered and floodwaters come in, and then the animal died," Stern said. "So it's a huge danger to them."
Gina Peebles, the assistant manager and interim animal resources director for Alachua County, said she would rather educate pet owners than legislate. She said reports of abandoned animals are often cases of homeless people tying their pets while panhandling. In those situations, she said, their officers want to give them the opportunity to make it right.
The new law applies only during disasters declared by the National Weather Service.
Anyone reporting an animal should contact the county's animal resources department, Peebles said. An officer will check on the animal's welfare. Harsh elements can be as harmful to animals as humans.
"Our furry friends need food and water to survive as well," Peebles said.
When the Legislature was voting on the new law, lawmakers questioned whether penalties should be even tougher.
Sen. Don Gaetz, R-Pensacola, who introduced the bill, said not all abandoned animals will have someone reach them in time. Another senator, Republican Jim Boyd of Bradenton, said, "I think what you're trying to accomplish here is maybe not even harsh enough, but I do appreciate the step forward and the good legislation."
Gov. Ron DeSantis – who expressed outrage over Trooper's abandonment along I-75 – signed the bill into law on May 28. Trooper missed the ceremony that day because his newly adopted owner caught COVID. The governor said the actions of animal cruelty in Florida demand a stronger response.
"Florida stands by man's best friend," he said.
In Trooper's case, the dog's previous owner was charged with felony aggravated cruelty to animals and faces up to the same punishment as under the new law, if convicted. He has pleaded not guilty. His criminal trial is pending.
Investigators said Trooper's previous owner had owned the dog, which he called Jumbo, since it was a puppy and had been trying unsuccessfully to get rid of the dog for weeks before the hurricane approached.
The highway patrol found the dog – trembling and in distress – tied to a pole in standing water. The agency posted a video on social media showing the black-and-white dog tied in an area where flooding water almost covered its legs.
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