VIDEO shows cops rescuing an abandoned dog before Hurricane Milton wreaked havoc on Florida.
Troopers freed the stranded animal that had been tied to a pole.
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On Wednesday, footage shared on X showed an officer navigating the waterlogged grass near Interstate 75 in Tampa.
He approached the dog, thought to be an English bull terrier, before reassuring the animal, saying: “It’s ok.”
The trapped pooch, tied to metal wiring, was staring back at the officer as it was stuck in the water.
Then, it started barking and growling before the officer said: “I don’t blame you.”
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At a press conference, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis updated Floridians on the dog’s health.
He said the animal had a clean bill of health but was left irritated by the ordeal.
DeSantis blasted people who acted foolishly and warned the person who tied the dog to the pole “should have the book thrown at them.”
“We’ve got very good laws in Florida against animal cruelty,” he said.
“We’ve got dogs that are going to be helping in the storm.”
DeSantis warned Florida doesn’t have a tolerance for animal cruelty cases.
“I thought it was outrageous that someone would do that,” he said.
The dog was rescued just hours before Milton made landfall.
Milton made landfall near Siesta Key, located around 67 miles from Tampa, on Wednesday evening as a Category 3 hurricane.
So far, four people have been confirmed dead.
The storm battered Florida’s west coast with 120mph winds but it has since weakened as it moves across the state.
It has wreaked havoc, delivering up to 16 inches of rain in the Tampa area, shredding a baseball stadium’s roof, and leaving millions without power.
More than 3.3 million Floridians are currently without power, according to PowerOutage US.
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Even though Milton has weakened, officials at the National Hurricane Center have warned Americans are not yet out of the woods.
Meteorologists have warned of the dangers of life-threatening storm surges along the east coast.
Homeowners have been urged to stay away from windows, given the risks of hurricane-force winds.
NHC chiefs have also warned of the risks linked to flash flooding in urban areas.
Milton’s center has pulled away from Florida’s eastern coastline but gusty winds are still expected near the Space Coast.
Cities such as Melbourne and Cape Canaveral are on the Space Coast.
Shocking pictures have captured the devastation that Milton has inflicted on the state.
The roof of Tropicana Field, a baseball stadium in St Petersburg, has been shredded.
Roads are covered in debris, and the sheer force of the winds sent a crane tumbling near the Tampa Bay Times offices.
Americans were also seen navigating treacherous flood waters in Fort Myers Beach.
‘A WAKE UP CALL’
Tampa Bay was expected to feel the brunt of the storm, and fears mounted that the city could be hammered by storm surges as high as 15 feet.
Earlier this week, NHC chiefs warned Milton could be one of the west-central region’s most destructive hurricanes on record.
The Tampa Bay mayor Jane Castor urged residents to heed evacuation advice.
She urged people not to try and ride out the storm.
“Helene was a wake-up call,” she told CNN on Monday.
“If you choose to stay in one of those evacuation areas, you’re going to die.”
Days before Milton made landfall, drivers clogged up the interstates as they rushed to evacuate Tampa.
Pictures showed cars bumper to bumper while homeowners strapped their properties to the ground.
Some drivers traveled hundreds of miles as they sought refuge in Georgia, according to the Fox affiliate WAGA-TV.
Hundreds of tornado warnings were issued as twisters spawned before the storm made landfall.
One formed near Port St. Lucie and it devastated homes in the area.
“It looked like someone had dropped a weight from the sky and flattened a bunch of houses,” local Doug Anderson told Treasure Coast Newspapers.
Milton pummeled the state just weeks after the impact of Hurricane Helene left more than 200 people dead.