Only months after being rescued and finding his forever home, a strong dog who was brutally chained to a fence during Hurricane Milton has triumphed over cancer.
Just off Interstate 75 in Tampa, Florida, a white bull terrier named Trooper was discovered dead and encircled by rising floodwaters just before the destructive Category 3 hurricane slammed land in October.
Frank and Karla Spina adopted Trooper when the Florida Highway Patrol located him and took him home to be with them.
However, according to a CBS News, the Spinas discovered a couple of dime-sized lumps on Trooper’s left side just two weeks into his new life.
Their newest four-legged family member was given a cancer diagnosis by a veterinarian.
“The doctor immediately said, ‘Oh no, these are mass cell tumors. These are cancer.’ So we were in a complete meltdown,” Frank disclosed.
While removing the malignancy, the veterinarian observed that the Trooper’s stomach was not functioning properly. Trooper had eaten a little more than two-pound freezer bag.
Frank stated, “It’s a combination of about 110 or 120 pieces of garbage.”
Health experts extracted rubber and metal from Trooper’s stomach during a life-saving procedure that took more than four hours. The outlet claims that before Trooper was adopted, the rubbish was inside of him.
“Could you imagine how starved he had to be to ingest a piece of metal or, or pieces of rubber that are the size of quarters?” Frank stated.
Giovanny Garcia, Trooper’s former owner, was accused of severe animal cruelty, a third-degree felony. According to reports, the 23-year-old informed authorities that he abandoned the puppy because he “couldn’t find anyone to pick the dog up.”
The next hearing for the callous former pet owner is scheduled for March. Trooper was named after the trooper from the Florida Highway Patrol who saved his life.
Following the rescue, Trooper received assistance from the Leon County Humane Society.
According to a Facebook post, the non-profit group ultimately chose Frank and Karla Spina to adopt Trooper because they had been caring for bull terriers for more than thirty years, despite the fact that there was a spike in interest from prospective dog parents following the viral coverage of the animal.
Dallas is the name of another dog owned by the Spina family.
