State Police Say Governor Cuomo Left His Dog at the Mansion When He Moved Out

Disgraced New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is said to have abandoned his dog at the Governor’s Mansion when he moved out of the state-owned residence.

Shortly after Andrew Cuomo’s resignation from his third term in office, the former governor moved out of the Executive Mansion. But, according to State Police and an Albany Times Union report, he left his dog behind.

Captain, a Husky-Shepherd-Malamute mix has lived at the mansion since he was adopted in 2018 at just 14-weeks old. But, when the former governor moved out last week, staffers were left to care for the energetic (and sometimes unruly) 3-year old dog. When he moved out all of his belongings, Cuomo reportedly asked mansion staff if anyone would take Captain. One staffer took the dog home for a few days but, when Captain wasn’t a good fit, had to bring him back to the mansion.

Not surprisingly, despite reports from at least two State Police sources, Cuomo’s senior adviser and spokesman, Richard Azzopardi denied the allegations. Azzopardi said that arrangements to take the dog were only temporary as Cuomo planned to go on vacation after leaving office. He also said he had more important issues to deal with than the Cuomo’s dog.

In a statement to the Times Union, Azzopardi said, “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.”

Upon learning that Captain had been left behind at the mansion, Libby Post, executive director of the New York State Animal Protection Federation, issued a statement Monday offering to help find Captain another family, that the dog deserves better.

“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… [many shelters] have excellent behavioral experts who can help Captain resolve his ‘nipping’ issues and adopt him into a loving, forever home.”

After news of Captain’s possible abandonment breaking, a Cuomo spokesperson insisted that the dog would remain with the Cuomo family.