Outgoing New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) left his dog, Captain, behind in Albany as he departed for his sister's house in Westchester County.
Cuomo was reported by the Albany Times Union to have asked staff members at the governor's mansion last week if any of them wished to take his dog. One staffer took the canine, which has a history of biting people, but returned it a few days later.
Cuomo's spokesperson Richard Azzopardi slammed the report, telling the Albany newspaper that the dog's relocation would only be "temporary" because the governor will be taking a vacation following his official resignation Monday night.
"Captain is part of the governor's family and for your nameless ill-informed source to imply they've been trying to give him away is untrue," Azzopardi said in a statement Saturday to the Times Union.
"Someone offered to watch him for a few days while the transition was ongoing but for that to be weaponized and morph from a game of telephone into the pages of your paper is absurd," he continued.
An animal shelter advocacy group suggested that Captain be left at a shelter with "behavioral experts who could help with the dog's biting problem.
"I read with disbelief in this morning’s Times Union, that Captain, Governor Cuomo’s dog, had been left at the Executive Mansion after Cuomo’s belongings had been moved out of the Eagle Street building," Libby Post, who leads the New York State Animal Protection Federation, said in a statement Monday. "The New York State Animal Protection Federation is ready to help place Captain at one of our larger New York State animal shelters, such as the Mohawk Hudson Humane Society in Menands, just north of Albany."
"Shelters like Mohawk Hudson, Lollypop Farm in Rochester and the SPCA Serving Erie County have excellent behavioral experts who can help Captain resolve his ‘nipping’ issues and adopt him into a loving, forever home," she continued. "New York State loves companion animals. Captain deserves better. He will be welcomed with open arms (and paws) into one of our shelters.
The 3½-year-old Siberian-shepherd-Malamute mix was adopted by Cuomo back in 2018.