I want you to imagine something. You’re sitting at home when your parents suddenly start acting strange. They seem scared, anxious. They pack some stuff up like they’re getting ready to leave. They bring you outside with them as they pack the car, but for some reason, they tie you to the fence. You can’t leave the property. Your parents leave. You are alone and powerless, and you have no idea why the people you love would do that to you.
That’s petrifying, right? You wouldn’t do that to the people you care about, would you? I pray the answer is ‘no’, but for a young Bull Terrier in Tallahassee, Fla., this was his sad truth.
Now known as “Trooper,” this dog was left “tied to a fence along Interstate 75 as Hurricane Milton approached Florida,” according to USA Today. Thankfully, he is now in the hands of the Leon County Humane Society, after being found with stormwater up to his chest.
I cannot even truly express how heartbroken and angry I am over this. This is an animal whom the owners chose to get, chose to bring into their family, but once disaster strikes, he’s just left to die? He could not even roam free, he was tied to the fence! They left Trooper with no way out.
Watching the video of the officer finding Trooper was genuinely agonizing — you can see how scared this sweet boy is. Even Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said, “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.”
Sadly, Trooper is only one of more than 100 cases of animals left behind by owners during natural disasters. But if there are any silver linings, they are that his story is finally shedding some light on the subject and that now he is in better hands.
In fact, if you visit the Leon County Humane Society’s website, Trooper is the first thing you see. According to them, he already “has hundreds of applications and inquiries.” You can even buy a “Trooper Sent Me” shirt or sweatshirt, and $962 has already been raised as of Oct. 23.
I really commend this society for what they are doing, because not only are they committed to giving Trooper to “an owner who has breed experience and is well suited to offer him a permanent home for the rest of his life,” but they remind those who visit the page that while Trooper will have a happy ending, other animals will not be as lucky.
“…we want to make sure they know there are other dogs in shelters, over 3 million, across the US – each looking for their forever homes,” they have written on the page. “We can’t help but stress that every single dog in shelters deserves just as much attention, love, and advocacy.”
If you know you will not love or care for an animal, don’t get one. It’s that simple; and if you’re going to leave your animal to die in the wake of a massive storm, I hope you consistently feel itchy in a spot you cannot reach.
ajones11@ramapo.edu
Featured photo courtesy of @FLHSMV, X
