'trooper's Law' Clears Another Hurdle In Florida Senate

Trooper's Law, inspired by the Florida dog abandoned during Hurricane Milton evacuations and rescued by Florida Highway Patrol troopers, is making its way through the Florida Senate.

SB 150 is making its way to the Rules Committee after a unanimous vote in the Florida Senate in the Agriculture Committee on Monday.

The bill would make abandoning a restrained animal during a natural disaster a third-degree felony.

FHP troopers found Trooper, a Bull Terrier, in belly-high water, abandoned along Interstate 75, near Pebble Creek, north of Tampa during evacuations for Hurricane Milton last year.

Giovanny Aldama Garcia, 23, of Ruskin, Florida was identified as Trooper's owner and arrested in October 2023.