A shocking conspiracy theory claiming that a dog left tied to a post during Hurricane Milton floods has swept the internet.
The bull terrier-type dog , now named Trooper, was found just off the rain-lashed I-75 near Bruce B Downs Boulevard near Tampa.
After being saved, ‘Trooper’ was taken to a vet where doctors assured that he was in good health and afterwards left in the care of the Leon County Humane Society.
But shortly after, rumors of him being reunited with the family who left him stranded began to make rounds on social media – forcing the animal shelter to intervene.
The Society acknowledged in a Facebook post that while the traumatized dog did stop at the Hillsborough County Pet Resource Center, he has not been returned to his owners.
‘We’re seeing a lot of people reference a reunion that we weren’t informed on, and have no proof of. A comment on a Facebook post isn’t always factual.
‘He’s in our care and we worked directly with government services to accept him in Leon County because of the damage expected to that area.
‘If his abandonment was a misunderstanding, that’s another reason to not accept applications. If these claims have any basis and reunification is possible, excellent! But as far as we know, we were contacted to take in a dog who needed help, and accepted the call.
The shelter also told followers desperate to adopt Trooper that he needs to be watched by doctors for a longer period of time to check that he is in good health.
If so, he will be fostered so a volunteer can assess what type of family he would be best suited to.
‘He’s incredibly stressed and still decompressing. Abandoning a dog like this doesn’t typically allow for an immediate bounce back to their happy selves. Most dogs when rescued take a few days to feel safe, a few weeks to come out of their shell, and a few months to become comfortable and fall into a routine.
We have absolutely no idea what his life looked like before he was abandoned. We want to be sure that we know exactly what he needs before even considering adoption, so he’ll be in foster care until we feel confident he’s ready for the next phase of life, and that his future will be kind to him.
‘We know that many people are going to be interested in adopting him, because he’s an amazing dog and deserves the world, and for every terrible person who would leave him like this there are hundreds who would go above and beyond, but right now we aren’t accepting any applications or inquiries.’
Video footage from his rescue showed the officer assuring the terrified animal as it back away. ‘It’s OK, it’s OK!’
As the officer approached the dog and realized it was stuck, it began to growl as the small animal stood in water up to his chest.
Despite multiple attempts to comfort the dog, it just kept growling and wolfing.
‘I don’t blame you,’ the officer said. ‘It’s OK, buddy, it’s OK.’
‘Do NOT do this to your pets please…’ the organization wrote in an X post.
Governor Ron DeSantis even showed support for the Highway Patrol, writing on X: ‘Thank you @FHPTampa. It is cruel for anyone to leave a dog tied to a post in the middle of an oncoming storm. FL will hold anyone who mistreats pets accountable.’
As of yesterday, the death toll in Florida has hit 16 after Hurricane Milton battered The Sunshine State, ripping communities to pieces, just two weeks after the misery wrought by Hurricane Helene.
Rescue crews have been left clearing downed trees and powerlines, as well as mopping up flooded neighborhoods after the storm made landfall as a Category 3 Hurricane.
Milton was downgraded to a Category 3 storm before it hit Siesta Key, a barrier island off the coast of Sarasota, at around 8.30pm local time on Wednesday according to the National Hurricane Center.
While Milton did not trigger the catastrophic surge of seawater that was feared in Florida, the clean-up operation could take many weeks or months for some people.
Some 2.6 million homes and businesses in Florida overall were without power in the early hours of Friday morning, according to PowerOutage.us. Some have been waiting days for power to be restored after Hurricane Helene hit the area.