Just a note to let his followers know that he is doing terrific. He recently went on his first vacation, to Universal Orlando, and had a great time! He slept for 2 days when he got home.\ud83d\ude00
\nHe sends his best Bully wishes to all his friends and followers!<\/p>\n
https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/photo\/?fbid=1887179302056759&set=gm.1600080827350717&idorvanity=416673219024823<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u2014 During Hurricane Milton\u2019s approach in October 2024, Florida Highway Patrol Trooper Orlando Morales rescued a 5-year-old bull terrier who had been tied to a fence in rising floodwaters near Tampa. The dog, later renamed Trooper<\/strong> in honor of his rescuer, survived and is now living in a safe home\u200b<\/p>\n Hurricane Milton, a powerful Category 3 storm, made landfall along Florida\u2019s Gulf Coast on Oct. 9, 2024. The hurricane brought heavy rain, damaging winds and life-threatening storm surge, killing at least 24 people in Florid. In the frantic evacuation, Trooper\u2019s original owner, Giovanny Aldama Garcia, left his bull terrier behind on Interstate 75 near Tampa as floodwaters rose\u200b. The dog was found tied to a fence with water up to his chest as Milton bore down on the region.<\/p>\n Trooper Morales received a tip and searched until he found the distressed dog in belly-high water on the highway. He calmly approached the barking bull terrier \u2014 bodycam video later showed Morales reassuring the dog \u2014 and escorted him to safety just before the storm hit. The dog, who had been called \u201cJumbo\u201d by his owner, was taken to a veterinarian, given a clean bill of health, and renamed Trooper<\/strong> after his rescuer. He was then housed at the Hillsborough County pet resource center and transferred to the Leon County Humane Society in Tallahassee for foster care\u200b.<\/p>\n Hundreds of people applied to adopt Trooper after the story went viral. In December 2024 he was adopted by Frank and Carla Spina of Parkland, Florida, experienced bull-terrier owners, along with their rescue dog Dallas. \u201cHe\u2019s now been with us [\u2026] a month. He\u2019s doing great,\u201d Frank Spina said, describing Trooper\u2019s progress in his new home. Carla Spina said Trooper was \u201cfunny, [and] lovable\u201d and loves to be scratched and hugged.<\/p>\n Shortly after adoption, the Spinas discovered two dime-sized lumps on Trooper\u2019s side. A veterinarian diagnosed them as mast cell tumors, a form of cancer\u200b. Trooper underwent surgery to remove the tumors, and tests later confirmed he was cancer-free \u2014 news that brought the family to tears\u200b.<\/p>\n Additional health issues soon emerged: veterinarians found something in Trooper\u2019s stomach during pre-surgery exams. Trooper fell ill and had emergency surgery in Miami, where doctors removed a 2.1-pound freezer bag and more than 100 pieces of debris from his digestive tract. Dr. Gonzales, one of the attending veterinarians, called it a \u201conce in a lifetime\u201d case. The trash was likely ingested while the dog was chained outdoors before being rescued\u200b. Despite this harrowing ordeal, Trooper recovered fully.<\/p>\n His adoptive parents say Trooper is now playful and energetic, settling into home life. They have been training him to sleep indoors \u2013 a luxury he likely lacked when living chained outside. \u201cIt\u2019s night and day because he was probably sleeping on concrete outside,\u201d Frank Spina said.<\/p>\n Trooper\u2019s story drew national attention and prompted public outrage. At a 2024 press conference Gov. Ron DeSantis announced that Garcia would face felony charges for aggravated animal cruelty\u200bwctv.tv<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span>. State Attorney Susan Lopez vowed he would \u201cface the music,\u201d noting that under current law he could get up to five years in prison, and expressing hope that legislators would impose harsher penalties for abandoning pets during emergencies. Lopez said, \u201cWe should be protecting our pets during a storm, not leaving them for dead,\u201d and called it impossible to imagine someone tying a \u201cdefenseless animal\u201d to a pole as a Category 5 hurricane (Milton briefly reached Cat 5 intensity offshore) approached.<\/p>\n In 2025, Florida lawmakers unanimously passed \u201cTrooper\u2019s Law,\u201d<\/strong> making it a felony to abandon a restrained animal during a natural disaster\u200b. The bill, if signed, would allow up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine for offenders. In his 2025 State of the State address, DeSantis highlighted the rescue: \u201cFHP Trooper Orlando Morales rescued [a dog] as water was rising to the dog\u2019s neck. The dog has been renamed \u2018Trooper\u2019 and is now in a safe and loving home. Thank you, Trooper Morales!\u201d\u00a0Humane society officials said Trooper\u2019s story underscores the many animals needing adoption and the impact one rescue can have.<\/p>\n As of early 2025, Trooper lives happily with the Spinas and their terrier Dallas. The Spinas consider him \u201clike a child\u201d and say he is receiving the care he deserves. Carla Spina told the Leon County Humane Society, \u201cWe just want everyone to know we are going to give him the best life\u201d. The family hopes Trooper\u2019s journey \u2013 from abandoned pup to survivor \u2013 will inspire others to adopt shelter animals. Trooper\u2019s remarkable story shows how one rescue amid disaster can capture hearts and lead to change<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Trooper, a 5-year-old bull terrier, was found tied to a fence in chest-high water during Florida\u2019s Hurricane Milton. Rescued by a state trooper, he beat cancer and now lives with an adoptive family. His ordeal inspired new laws against abandoning pets in disasters.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4740,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["http:\/\/www.newsmolo.com\/EDC\/2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Trooper-2k.jpg",1200,900,false],"thumbnail":["http:\/\/www.newsmolo.com\/EDC\/2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Trooper-2k-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["http:\/\/www.newsmolo.com\/EDC\/2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Trooper-2k-600x450.jpg",600,450,true],"medium_large":["http:\/\/www.newsmolo.com\/EDC\/2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Trooper-2k-768x576.jpg",640,480,true],"large":["http:\/\/www.newsmolo.com\/EDC\/2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Trooper-2k.jpg",640,480,false],"1536x1536":["http:\/\/www.newsmolo.com\/EDC\/2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Trooper-2k.jpg",1200,900,false],"2048x2048":["http:\/\/www.newsmolo.com\/EDC\/2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Trooper-2k.jpg",1200,900,false],"darknews-slider-full":["http:\/\/www.newsmolo.com\/EDC\/2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Trooper-2k-1200x720.jpg",1200,720,true],"darknews-featured":["http:\/\/www.newsmolo.com\/EDC\/2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Trooper-2k-1024x768.jpg",1024,768,true],"darknews-medium":["http:\/\/www.newsmolo.com\/EDC\/2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Trooper-2k-720x530.jpg",720,530,true],"darknews-medium-square":["http:\/\/www.newsmolo.com\/EDC\/2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Trooper-2k-350x350.jpg",350,350,true]},"author_info":{"display_name":"News MoLo","author_link":"http:\/\/www.newsmolo.com\/EDC\/2019\/author\/admin\/"},"category_info":"News<\/a>","tag_info":"News","comment_count":"0","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.newsmolo.com\/EDC\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4737"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.newsmolo.com\/EDC\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.newsmolo.com\/EDC\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.newsmolo.com\/EDC\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.newsmolo.com\/EDC\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4737"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.newsmolo.com\/EDC\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4737\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4739,"href":"http:\/\/www.newsmolo.com\/EDC\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4737\/revisions\/4739"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.newsmolo.com\/EDC\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4740"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.newsmolo.com\/EDC\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4737"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.newsmolo.com\/EDC\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4737"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.newsmolo.com\/EDC\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4737"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Abandonment During Hurricane Milton<\/h2>\n
Rescue and Transfer<\/h2>\n
Adoption and Recovery<\/h2>\n
Public Response and Legislation<\/h2>\n
Today<\/h2>\n