A bull terrier found tied to a fence during Hurricane Milton has now found his “fur-ever home.”
Trooper, aged five, was left tied to a fence post in chest-deep water back in October as the category 3 storm made landfall in Tampa Bay, Florida.
The dog was rescued and taken to a shelter, hitting headlines across the country and leading Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to condemn the owner for abandoning the pup.
Trooper’s owner Giovanny Aldama Garcia, 23, was later tracked down and charged with one felony count of aggravated animal cruelty. Garcia is facing up to five years in prison.
Now, two months on, Trooper has been rehomed, the Leon County Humane Society announced on Monday.
Trooper’s new mom and dad, Frank and Carla Spina from Parkland, drove more than 400 miles to Tallahassee to meet the bull terrier and they were a “perfect match,” the shelter said.
“Trooper has been adopted! From the moment he was introduced to his new Mom and Dad, you could see that it was a perfect match,” the shelter said on Facebook.
“In other meetings, Trooper would normally be visibly on edge and uncomfortable, but with Frank and Carla, Trooper seemed immediately at ease.”
The five-year-old rescue pup has now joined his new sister Dallas, a 7-year-old miniature rescue bull terrier.
Dallas had been grieving the loss of her friend Diesel, 15, also a bull terrier rescue, who died in April.
According to the shelter, it was “love at first sight” when Dallas and Trooper met.
In an interview with WCTV, Frank Spina said that Trooper had been weary of men following his past experience but he quickly approached him for cuddles.
“He came over and he got under my legs, and he started scratching his neck and his foot started moving, and she [LCHS’s Amy Raddar] said ‘perfect match!’” he said.
