Andrew Cuomo Denies He Abandoned Dog While Leaving Governor Office

Former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has denied a report that he abandoned his dog, Captain, and tried to give him away as he prepared to leave office and move out of the governor's mansion.

Cuomo, who formally left office at 11.59pm on Monday, took to Twitter to pour cold water on the claim just hours before his resignation took effect, sharing a family photo featuring him and the dog.

The three-term Democrat resigned following a report supervised by state Attorney General Letitia James that concluded Cuomo had sexually harassed at least 11 women. He has denied all wrongdoing.

The Albany Times Union reported on Monday that Cuomo had left the dog behind at the governor's mansion in Albany when he moved out last week.

Cuomo will stay with his sister in Westchester for the time being and has moved his belongings out of the mansion.

Citing two "state police sources," The Times Union reported that Cuomo had been trying to give the dog away and seeking staff who might be willing to take him.

The newspaper reported that the dog, which is a shepherd, Siberian and malamute mix, was adopted by Cuomo in 2018 and had nipped some people in the past.

Richard Azzopardi, a senior adviser and spokesperson for Cuomo, denied the claims to the newspaper, saying Cuomo was only looking for someone to care for the dog temporarily as he planned to go on vacation. He also pointed to the fact that the then governor was dealing with the response to Tropical Storm Henri.

Cuomo later took to social media to stress Captain's place in his family.

"Some people just can't get the facts straight," Cuomo wrote. "Yes, I was downstate monitoring storm response for a few days, but Captain and I are a man and his dog. He is part of our family and that's the way it will always be."

Azzopardi told Newsweek on Monday that the reports about Captain were "absurd" and "ill-informed."

"Captain is part of the Governor's family and for nameless ill-informed sources to imply they've been trying to give him away is untrue," Azzopardi said.

"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 press is simply absurd. This is palace intrigue gone amok," he said.

In farewell remarks on Monday, Cuomo again denied the allegations of sexual harassment that have been made against him.

"A firecracker can start a stampede, but at one point everyone looks around and says, 'Why are we running?' The truth is, ultimately, always revealed," Cuomo said.

"The attorney general's report was designed to be a political firecracker on an explosive topic, and it worked," he said.

"It was a political and media stampede, but the truth will out in time. Of that, I am confident," the former governor added.

Kathy Hochul, who previously served as Cuomo's lieutenant governor, was sworn in as the state's 57th governor at 12.01am on Tuesday. She is the first woman ever to hold New York's top job.