Photo: Mike Groll/Office of Governor, Flickr
After packing up his belongings at the Executive Mansion in Albany this weekend, Governor Cuomo seems to have forgotten one thing: His dog, Captain.
Or so it would appear. According to a report from the Times Union, State Police sources told the paper that the Governor had been asking staff members at the mansion if anyone would like to take the dog. Apparently one staff member took Captain home for a few days but found the dog was too much to handle.
Cuomo's adviser Richard Azzopardi denies the claims in a statement to the paper Saturday:
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. 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 — now excuse us we're preparing for a major storm.
Libby Post, the Executive Director with the New York State Animal Protection Foundation, said her organization would gladly help help find the dog a new home:
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. 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.
New York City mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa was at the Governor's Mansion today and offered to adopt the dog himself.
The dog is still believed to be at the Executive Mansion.