Monday was Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s last full day in office in Albany. At 12:01 am today, Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul was sworn in as governor of New York. Gov. Cuomo apparently pre-recorded a “fiery” farewell speech in which he basically called a lot of women liars and said the truth will eventually come out. To celebrate, a local Albany paper kicked Cuomo on his way out the door. Several years ago, Cuomo got a dog and named him Captain. Cuomo’s daughters apparently wanted the dog but then they didn’t want to take care of the dog, or something. There was family-dog drama. And apparently, Cuomo doesn’t want to take Captain with him when he leaves the governor’s mansion. Dude is abandoning a family pet in what amounts to a government office? Dang.
Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, who has been staying with one of his sisters in Westchester County in the final days of his third term, recently has asked staff members at the Executive Mansion if anyone would like to keep his dog, Captain, who has remained at the state-owned residence after the governor moved out last week.
Two State Police sources told the Times Union on Saturday that the governor had recently asked mansion staff members if anyone would be interested in caring for the dog. Captain — a high-strung mix of shepherd, Siberian and malamute — has nipped a few people since Cuomo adopted him in 2018, the sources said, and a mansion staffer recently took the dog home for a few days but decided he was too much.
Richard Azzopardi, a senior adviser and spokesman for the governor, lashed out at the allegation that the governor has been looking for someone to care for the canine. He said the arrangement was only “temporary” because the governor, who is scheduled to resign from office at 11:59 p.m. Monday, is planning to take a vacation. Azzopardi also said that he and the governor had more important things to deal with as the tropical system Henri was bearing down on southern New York and New England.
“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. “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.”
But a State Police source said they were told “he tried giving the dog to the (a mansion employee). … Apparently (the employee) took the dog home and it didn’t work — the dog walks him, he don’t walk the dog.”
The source, in an interview on Saturday, also said the dog had nipped at “several State Police members” as well as staff members, “and the governor would just laugh. … The dog remains at the mansion.”
Cuomo first introduced the dog, then 14 weeks old, in 2018 to a delegation from the state Conference of Mayors when they visited the Executive Mansion. Cuomo, who struggled to control the dog during that public introduction, said his daughters had suggested getting the dog but were “nowhere to be found now.”
“He will only urinate indoors,” Cuomo said three years ago. “He has some kind of climate sensitivity that overpowers his bowel movements.”
People are really freaking out about this, as well they should. Obviously, a family pet is part of the family. So what if your dog is high-strung, he’s your dog and you shouldn’t just give him away when you move out of government housing! For the love of God. It’s not Captain’s fault that his dad is a douche. Why can’t one of Cuomo’s daughters take the dog?
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cuomo’s IG.
Don’t trust anything coming from the NY police they hate Cuomo, and trust, that hate has nothing to do with how he treats women. In fact, that part would have earned their votes.
Them, or the Post where this story originated from.
I think that dog would be better off with someone else. If he is trying to get rid of the dog and then doesn’t, the dog will probably not be well cared for.
Those breeds need a lot of exercise and stimulation and are best with very active people who understand this.
I bet his daughters wanted nothing to do with such a high maintenance dog. But Cuomo, being the asshat alpha male he is, felt it necessary to get a macho dog that no one had the time or inclination to train. Poor dog. Hope he gets a caring and understanding home.
Agreed. And if the dog is high-strung and poorly-trained, it’s probably at least partly because he was living with such a volatile, angry person.
Shepherd, husky and malamute mix? That’s not a dog for people who have no time going for long walk daily
Pretty sure they got him only because he’s nice to look at
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Agree the NY police loathe Cuomo and, well, payback is a b….. On the other hand, for some reason it wouldn’t surprise me if he abandoned the dog. Sounds like they were simply too cheap/lazy to do even basic training with Captain. Huskies and shepherds are smart dogs and fast learners but also need exercise and mental stimulation.
And Cuomo’s sister, the one he is staying with, is married to Kenneth Cole so not like he’s living in a small bedroom in her suburban split level. Imagine she also has a pretty big piece of property where Captain could run around. And really, since Cuomo has a lot of free time these days, perfect time to do some training!
Interesting tidbit about his sister. And very good point about him having plenty of free time, lol.
The relationship between police and Democrats sure is fraught. If it’s anything like Chicago, their resistance to any kind of reforms is telling. But as you said, I would also believe Cuomo would abandon his dog, and of course strongly deny it.
Perfectly said. I got no time for the po-po smearing Cuomo, but even if Cuomo were an involved and caring dog owner, the needs of that kind breed in the prime of life would be extremely difficult to attend to along with the COVID crisis etc.
If life were a movie, Cuomo and his dog would start out as enemies in his sister’s house (uhhh, who would be cast in the role of sister?) and Cuomo, friendless (“based on a true story”) and dejected, would learn to heal through helping the pooch heel, and Cuomo would find a second life as dog owner and get the dog all the way to the uh, big dog show (name eludes me–wait–Westminster). Where the dog does great, doesn’t win, but really Wins because it is all about trying and Being Good.
Actor who would play Cuomo?
Actress who would play his sister?
Kenneth Cole played by?
The dog played by uh, Major or Champ?
Guest appearances at the Westminster dog show by the entire cast of Best In Show or mostly Jennifer Coolidge and Jane Lynch.
I hope producers read this blog. I can hardly wait to see it! Thanks everyone!
If it’s true, he’s a tool. If not? He’s still a tool. I’m allergic to my dogs. Didn’t start out that way but has gotten steadily worse with this year taking the cake. My doc has said to rehome them and yet, here they stay. 🤷🏻♀️
He’s a tool.
w/you. I was allergic to my cats. Though one passed at only 7 years, the other one was 17 when he died. He was in a loving, caring home every day of his life. During those years, I should have purchased stock in Benadryl !!
I can see rehoming a pet if it is a health issue and wouldn’t judge anyone who did (I have weird and sometimes debilitating reactions to some anti-allergies meds, so I if developed a bad allergy that might lead me to make some very hard choices)
But it’s great to hear you’ve found an approach that works for you.
But if this story about Cuomo is true it sounds like there was a whole series of irresponsible pet own decisions, from the choice of breed for someone whose demanding job requires lots of time, energy, attention, failure to provide basic training to let the dog be successfully integrated into the family, lifestyle, home, failure to meet the basic needs of the dog for exercise and enrichment, and failure to consider the dog in his exit plan by just figuring someone else will step in and deal with it for him.
This was originally reported by the NY Post, which is only half a step up from tabloid trash and is known as a conservative rag and usually full of ish and always print half ass info. NYers know to take their stories with a grain of salt. The fact about Cuomo’s behavior and harassment aside, they are just jumping at the chance to kick Cuomo when he is down, and any other Dem for that matter. Cuomo’s rep already stated he just needed someone to watch him while he was downstate dealing with the storm/flooding emergency this weekend, which was his last act as Gov.
Lots of people want to kick Cuomo when he’s down, because he was so busy kicking them when he was up.
My dog has destroyed my carpets, walls and chewed my cabinets. He’s still family. We’re working on training and finding a solution, not finding a new home
People are always surprising when it comes to tough situations and pets. Even people who you think are good pet owners ( clearly not Cuomo). I became a dog mom to a 7 yr old beautiful, well trained, and loving Golden because some relatives were getting divorced and neither of them could be bothered to keep the family pet they’d had since she was a puppy. We were blessed to have her a part of our family for 9 years and I still miss her every day.
Why is he staying at his sister’s? Did his wife leave him? Maybe he wasn’t married…
I personally don’t trust the police so I’m taking this story with more than an few grains of salt.
No, he wasn’t married, he was single when he left the Governor’s mansion. He was married to a woman from the Kennedy clan (one of RFK’s daughters) for about 15 years, that’s the mother of his daughters who he likes to refer to so much. Then he was in a long term relationship with Sandra Lee, who is or used to be a host on the Food Network but they broke up a few years ago. They never got married though.
He doesn’t have a house. Sandra Lee sold the house they lived in together, his ex-wife got the house they owned, and he fully expected to be, at minimum, a 4 term Governor (no term limits in NY) so would have had housing through at least 2026. He also had dreams of the White House so either way, no urgency to find housing.
His ex, Sandra Lee, is a huge animal lover. I hope she can come rescue the pup.
According to the story on People this is all incorrect – he was just looking for a dog sitter for 2 weeks. Now, it could just be damage control and he is a crappy pet owner, I guess it remains to be seen if he takes the dog with him and keeps him.
It’s appalling how many people buy large dog breeds that need a ton of training and exercise, yet fail to do even the basics and then whine when the dog misbehaves. Get a dog that fits the lifestyle you have, not for their looks.