Florida man arrested after dog tied to post ahead of Hurricane Milton landfall

HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY -- A man was arrested after Florida Highway Patrol officials found a dog tied to a pole one day before Hurricane Milton was expected to make landfall.

Giovanny Garcia, 23, is being charged with aggravated animal cruelty.

Authorities say he left his dog tied up off Interstate 75 in Tampa as many residents were evacuating ahead of the hurricane. In video, you can see the dog stuck to the post with water above its legs.

According to the arrest documents, Garcia two days later went to the Hillsborough County animal shelter to try to retrieve the dog and showed pictures as proof of ownership.

The incident got Florida's Gov. Ron DeSantis's attention.

"When this poor dog was left out there, we said there would be justice for that and that we're going to nail you when we find out exactly who did it. That's exactly what they're doing in Hillsborough County," DeSantis said.