3 new restaurants coming this fall to Coconut Point Cape Coral City Council salary, stipend won’t appear on November ballot
Animals left behind to face devastating storms as their owners flee to safer areas is not uncommon in our state. But a Florida senator wants to change that. Sen. Joe Gruters, R-Sarasota wants to make it a first-degree misdemeanor to leave behind an unattended, restrained dog during hurricanes and other extreme weather conditions. The person would face up to a year in jail and a fine up to $5,000. Gruters bill, SB 1738, would revise animal cruelty standards. It would make leaving a dog “outside and unattended by use of a restraint during a manmade disaster or a natural disaster” included in those standards. “We want to give these dogs a fighting chance,” said Gruters during a committee hearing on his bill Monday.