As hurricane season approaches, a new law is going into effect to further protect dogs. Trooper’s Law, effective Oct. 1, will make it a third-degree felony to abandon a restrained dog during a natural disaster. The measure was inspired by Trooper, the bull terrier who made national headlines last year when state troopers found him tied to a fence and left in belly-high water on Interstate 75 during Hurricane Milton evacuations.
Trooper was adopted by Parkland residents Frank and Carla Spina and was honored at Parkland City Hall in January. “The state troopers appeared and presented him with a ‘Junior Trooper’ Florida Highway Patrol badge, which he wears around his collar,” says Frank Spina.
After being rescued and adopted, Trooper went through an even greater ordeal, requiring surgery to remove cancerous tumors from his body, and then undergoing a four-hour endoscopy to remove more than 100 pieces of garbage from his stomach. Thankfully, the procedures went well, and Trooper is now thriving.
Trooper and the Spinas have been invited to witness Governor Ron DeSantis officially sign Trooper’s legislation into law. “The governor and his wife are very big proponents of Trooper,” says Spina. “They think the world of him.”
Trooper’s situation was not the first to force lawmakers to expand protections for animals during natural disasters. The Pets Evacuation and Transportation Standards Act of 2006, known as the PETS Act, was passed and codified into federal law following the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, when an estimated 200,000 pets were stranded and close to 150,000 perished during the storm. The act requires states to include the needs of households with pets and service animals in emergency preparedness operational plans in order to receive federal funding for those plans.
Florida was one of the first states to revise disaster relief plans to include household pets and service animals, creating pet-friendly shelters and aiding in pet evacuation and transport. But where the law still falls short is in protecting farm animals, including horses. Because they are not considered household pets, the PETS Act does not require states to incorporate hoofed animals into their emergency plans, and Florida does not have specific legal protections for these animals during hurricanes, despite the need for it. During Hurricane Ian, one dairy farmer in Myakka City lost 250 dairy cows.
The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services offers guidelines on disaster preparedness for horses, livestock, and pets, which include what to consider when sheltering in place or evacuating. For horse and livestock owners, it’s important to maintain contact with private businesses and nonprofits as many of them often step up during a storm, offering aid and/or shelter. During Hurricane Ian, the World Equestrian Center in Ocala provided free shelter for 3,000 horses, and American Humane helped rescue farm animals stranded during the storm.
Many of these organizations also offer free online resources on making preparations for your animals in case of a hurricane. It’s never too soon to prepare.